Patrick Leahy Pens Op-Ed: Why We Need Truth Commission

The Boston Globe:

THE OBAMA administration's decision to release more Bush-era memoranda, which sought to rationalize torture, shows that President Obama is following through on his promise to ban torture and to provide transparency to our government. The Bush-Cheney administration not only broke the law, it shattered the public trust and undermined America's reputation around the world.

After withdrawing the so-called Bybee "torture memo," the Bush-Cheney administration secretly reinstated the torture policy. While repeatedly claiming that the United States did not torture, the Bush-Cheney administration secretly authorized techniques that included waterboarding - up to 183 times in one case. This was not an "abstract legal theory," or "hypothetical," as Alberto Gonzales dismissively described in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. These were specific techniques, authorized by high-ranking US government officials and used on real people. We have prosecuted people for these kinds of acts against Americans, and condemned other nations for sanctioning these methods.

Read the whole story: The Boston Globe

Comments

[liberty68]

Which part of Leahy's position is partisan? The whole world agrees that waterboarding is torture. Bush admits that waterboarding is torture, and we know that we waterboarded, swung people around by the neck and smashed them into walls, burned prisoners with lit cigarettes and much more. What does one have to do to be non partisan? Say that while the above is true we should continue to torture and not blame anyone? As Arianna said, "Since when has torture become a democrat or republican issue? It's not a matter of partisanship, it's a matter of getting at the truth and, yes, PUNISHING those like Cheney who authorized and condoned it. He should be put in jail even though Leahy is willing to say we should investigate just to find the truth. If no one goes to jail on this we can be sure it will happen again, and the next generation will not even recognize signs when it begins again. We owe this investigation to our Founding Fathers!!

[worriedinvt]

There is no question that, if we are to remain true to our own principles and the beacon of democracy and freedom we purport to be for the world, we must undergo this painful process. If we don't demand it of our leaders, it is the same as saying "it doesn't really matter," and we all then share the guilt of the past administration. More terrible than this guilt is the very real possibility that, by not challenging the legality of the Bush Administration's actions, we set a precedent that will lead future administrations down that same slippery slope to more and more egregious violations of our constitution and basic human rights.

I truly believe that this commission can do its work without stepping on the valuable agenda for change of the Obama administration. I understand that this will be a thankless job, from which Obama must maintain a certain distance. That is the simple reality of keeping the "no minority" at bay.

Thank you, Senator Leahy, for once again doing the heavy lifting.

[TN60]

I'm all for a Truth Commission, Sen Leahy. Time its results to be after we get Health reform, Education reform and Energy reform.

Have several prongs to this Truth Commision. One for the Bush/Cheney lies and then one for each big business liars, such as Banks, Insurance, Oil, Pharma and etc.

Find out in one of your truth commissions why the legislature is bought and paid for by these big businesses. Who took the most lobbyist money from each of these industries.

Most of all find out how the MSM ginned up the Iraq War and how the news and cable industry boils down to just a few owners and how they are biased.

[PhilipTaylor]

Can we ignore White Collar and Government Crime? What is the Cost in the Long Run?

Ignoring White Collar Crime breeds disrespect for the law and exposes innocent people to more criminal behavior. Experts say that failure to prosecute undermines the criminal justice system, threatening public confidence and safety of our system.

What we're saying to White Collar offenders is that you can commit crime for any number of reasons but without prosecution it is essentially meaningless. Crime became meaningless so criminals ignore the laws!

One of the most obvious symptoms of contempt for the criminal justice system is individuals who commit crimes openly flouting it and continuing to commit more crimes. Illustrates the growing disrespect for the courts and the threat to public confidence in our systems. So crime grows like Toxic Assets - Parabolically or exponentially!

Look at the size of the Savings and Loan, then Enron, and now Wall Street. Each time we slap a few hands and the problem comes back several orders of magnitude larger!

[SangZe]

Hey! Guess who owns the government? Here's a clue: it ain't the taxpayers.

[AngieMom57]

Yes, agreed.

Politicians are easy prey for power and privileged to corrupt; I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the politicians fear an honest days work for an honest day's pay; coupled with the illusion that there is not enough for everybody and that the evil is conquered by more evil.

"Forgive them for they know not what they do."

[rf dude]

For God's Sake, Sen. Leahy - you are a SENATOR,

one of the most powerful people on Earth,

and the best you can give us

is an OP-ED PIECE???

Please, somebody - loan this man a spine.

For Shame...
--

[ErikW65]

I hope you get loaned a CLUE, let alone a spine.

[Beninn]

When Patrick Leahy says "Truth Commission", he means "No prosecutions, in exchange for the Bush-Cheney administration's full disclosure­."

They can tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (and have their highly paid public relations firms spin on the cable channels day in and day out), without fear of prosecution, or _______.

[CarmanK]

Bush-Cheney are already out there trying to confuse the American public about the value of torture. And the public is torn between what is right ( torture is wrong and immoral) and what the techniques really yield in intelligence gathering. Unfortunately, we have been exposed to too many movies and tv programs that make a little bit of torture (okay-24) and techniques which are really, really torture. The Senate needs to look at the Geneva conventions, the Army manual and take testimony about what is considered torture. We need explanantions, a lesso.n in torture. In the mean time, I think obama is right to let the DOJ take care of prosecutions. Unlike the Bush DOJ, I believe Holder will do his job. The only trouble is the clock is running on the statute of limtations and the Spanish courts are ahead of all US investigations. We are torn as a nation. Would I do anything to save my family. You bet I would. Like they say, if you act wrongly, you may live to apologize. If you don't act, you may not survive.

[jasjohn128]

I strongly agree. "Truth Commission" hearings are not worth much unless you want to do everything BUT indict, prosecute, convict, and punish the guilty. But they're great for putting on a show.

Hearings are televised campaign events and media ratings-winners. Lots of smoke and noise, lots of high drama and fevered speeches, lots of yes-he-did, no-he-didn't, all designed to further encrapulate the 24-hour news cycle and keep this great nation's pop-eyed news readers hopping wildly from make-up chair to anchor desk to Sunday morning talk show.

Let's have criminal indictments and prosecution instead, with real investigators and cops and prosecutors and trials and juries. Remember that few Watergate conspirators beyond the burglars themselves would have gone to prison back then, and Nixon himself would have finished his second term if not for real cops, real prosecutors, and a handful of good (mostly print) reporters.

We didn't get justice (or results) from congress, but from prosecutors: Richard ben-Veniste, Archibald Cox, Leon Jaworski, William Merrill and others, who'd learned their trade doing Organized Crime prosecutions. Except for one or two instances during Watergate, Congress (then) did what Congress will do now: celebrate themselves and preen for the cameras.

We don't need any of that this time around.

[voltage356]

The best line is from Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"

[voltage356]

I love this country. they clearly knows what is going on, yet somehow they love pulling the chains of blindness. I knew there was a reason why lady justice wears a dirty rag wrapped around her eyes.

[Cinnamonape]

Leahey:"We have prosecuted people for these kinds of acts against Americans"

As we should do here. Why "Truth Commissions"? If Congress wants to undertake hearings, without giving immunity to those that may later be subject to prosecution then fine. Otherwise let them face the prospect of pleading the 5th before the American people repeatedly.

[applescruff]

In an effort to get results from men that have no regard for laws or human rights the Bush Administration resorts to displaying an equal disregard for laws and human rights. Ironically the very laws they swore to defend.
I suppose if you believe The Bush Administrations "tortured" logic. If someone was suspected of raping your mother it would be perfectly acceptable to rape theirs.
One could argue that it violate the rights of an innocent bystander, but how many lives of family members were affected and shattered when Bushes bounties In the mideast collected hundreds of innocent men on mere hear say or without evidence at all? This is illegal brutalitry anyway you look at it and is only acceptable in the smallest of minds.

[ErikW65]

Furthermore, I see no evidence that a truth commission precludes prosecution later, or by an international tribunal.

Sen. Leahy called for these investigations eleven weeks ago. He's way ahead of the curve on this.

[ErikW65]

"These liberals all want to see alleged Bush administration wrongdoing exposed. But there's one problem with a special prosecutor: it's not his job to expose wrongdoing. A special prosecutor does dig up facts--but only in order to prosecute a possible crime. His mission is not to shine light on misdeeds, unless it is part of a prosecution. In many cases, a prosecutor's investigation does not produce any prosecutions. Sometimes, it leads only to a limited prosecution.

That's what happened with Patrick Fitzgerald. He could not share with the public all that he had discovered about the involvement of Bush, Cheney, Karl Rove, and other officials in the CIA leak case. Under the rules governing federal criminal investigations, he was permitted to disclose only information and evidence that was directly related and needed for the indictment and prosecution of Libby. Everything else he had unearthed via subpoenas and grand jury interviews had to remain secret. Repeatedly, Fitzgerald said that his hands were tied on this point. A special prosecutor, it turns out, is a rather imperfect vehicle for revealing the full truth."

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/no-special-prosecutor-torture

[applescruff]

No Erik. It's American's that want Bush exposed for what he did in our name. This was an administartion that could not do it's job of protecting us and keeping our laws at the same time. They were elected and swore to defend our constitution and abide by treaties we had signed with other nations in good faith. Instead they lied,and contrived means to subvert our constitution when things got difficult and cover thier a$$es. We didn't have to resort to this behavior with the threat of millions of Nazi's and Japanese wanting to take over the world. Why couldn't they handle a few thousand terrorists? Instead they built them up to super human beings, as is there were no alternatives in defeating them. instead we now have more terroists and a nation just now trying to regain the world's trust as a decent people with values and a regard for laws. This is not a liberal or conservative thing. It is an American thing. Bush and Cheney were crimminal failures definitely ill-equipped to hold the position they were put in. They did nothing to make us safer or leave this country in a better position then when they arrived. NOTHING.

[ErikW65]

Did you read the article I linked to?

[JiminNC]

No, we don't need toothless "truth commissions" We need prosecutions, convictions and stiff penalties.

[OtayPanky]

You are absolutely right, Senator. We need moral accountability for this shameful episode in American history.

Please keep up the pressure.

[freerovingbovine]

From my limited knowledge of the torture issue I fall on the side of Alan Dershowitz's 2002 article "Want to Torture? Get a Warrant". I have seen no serious challenge to this proposal.

The Bush administration should be judged on how they so effortlessly dismissed the other 2 branches of government putting our liberties at great risk.

[ErikW65]

Issue warrants to assault people, force confessions, violate the US Constitution and the Third Geneva Convention? I have a problem with that.

Here's a link to a refutation of Dershowitz's argument:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/alan-dershowitz-supports-_b_73125.html

[freerovingbovine]

This link does not refute Dershowitz's argument, it simply justifies the ad-hominid that he is pro-torture, rejecting the conditions as irrelevant.

[Cinnamonape]

There are no "warrants" to torture. There are warrants to wiretap, and open the mail...but to impose "cruel and unusual punishment" even before a conviction? That's not Constitutional. And I though Dershowitz knew something about the Constitution. I guess he skipped over the 8th Amendment.

[freerovingbovine]

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/635996/warrant
in law, authorization in writing empowering a person to perform an act or to execute an office. The term is applied to a great variety of documents, most commonly judicial or quasi-judicial warrants, of which the most common are for arrest or search.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Warrant
A written order issued by a judicial officer or other authorized person commanding a law enforce ment officer to perform some act incident to the administration of justice.

Your definition of warrant is not supported by these definitions. Judicial warrants are issued for the express reason to abridge a someones constitutional rights. Torture is an act of abridging someones rights as you have pointed out.

The defined and deliberate use of torture documented and justified in accordance to law would be much more effective than a secret act that would destroy all our liberties and the rule of law or Sen. Leahy's white wash truth commission that would prosecute no one.

Sorry, these still not a serious challenges. Please try again.