Watered Down Liberty

You know democracy and the rule of law can be mighty inconvenient. If I were the members of the congressional intelligence committees I'd be outraged that the CIA decided they couldn't be trusted with its torture tapes. To say nothing of some judges. "Too much danger of leaks" says the CIA Director, explaining that the video clearly showed some of the agency's waterboarders.

We can't have their covers blown. After all, then we would have some idea who should be punished for "just following orders". (By the way, don't you like that term "waterboarding"? I can't get it out of my head that before the interrogators begin, they holler "SURF'S UP!")

In fairness, we really should consider the argument that those who were on the receiving end of the abuse possessed information vital to the protection of the United States. Still, shouldn't we always remember what it is about the United States that we're protecting?

Isn't this a country whose fundamental traditions are openness and government accountability...as opposed to expedience? But here we are constantly faced with hard choices: Do we choose the Patriot Act and its other intrusions or do we protect time-honored civil liberties? Do we brutalize our prisoners of war to force their cooperation and ignore fundamental international law and decency in the process, or do we try to be the world's beacon that we claim to be?

We're told those are the only alternatives: National security versus national ideals. But may I suggest another approach? How about ingenuity? How about coming up with clever, creative ways to extricate vital secrets from defiant enemies at home and abroad? How about outsmarting them?

Is that naive? God, I hope not. It might mean that the agents of our government have nothing to hide, and no reason to destroy tapes of their shameful conduct.

As I said, keeping the promises of our country can be a real pain.

Follow Bob Franken on Twitter: www.twitter.com/frankenb

Comments

[BadChristian]

02:34 PM on 12/12/2007

The best defense against those who hate us, is that they accuse us of doing things that we'd NEVER do... So it's unbelievable... Or it used to be.

Now, who knows what our "contractors" might sink to? Certainly, the international population knows that we will turn a blind camera to it.

[estabon32]

01:35 PM on 12/12/2007

Very succinct comment, Mr. Franken! As a child, we used to tickle one of my cousins without mercy and he would say ANYTHING to make us stop. (Children can be cruel, ya know). If six scary guys strap you to a board and 'kinda drown' you repeatedly, I'm betting you would tell them WHATEVER THEY WANTED TO HEAR! Funny thing about my cousin, he grew up to be a politician (*sigh*) AND a Republican! Damn, must have been a reaction to all that 'enhanced tickling' .
'You can't tame a free man, the most you can do is kill him'-R.A.H.

[oogabooga]

12:46 PM on 12/12/2007

I think the greatest defense we have against any and all enemies is our Constitution. If because of one or two attacks or several, we opt as a country to cancel the Constitution, then we kill the reason America exists. Without our Constitution, which grants rights and protections to ordinary people, we will sink into the league of mediocre nations. And many of us will long for the good old days of personal freedom and choice, free of harassment from the expanding governmental apparatus and tinhorn bureaucrats. Sad to say, I think many Americans have no idea what the Constitution is.

[LeftRight]

12:39 PM on 12/12/2007

I've got an even better idea. I stead of the two choices that we've been given, plus the one that you came up with, how about we live up to those ideals, and make it so that those who are "attacking" us don't want to do so anymore. We pull our noses out of their governments, we bring our military back home, and we try to truly make a better world for all those who want it. Eventually even those who don't like us are going to either come around, or be starved for people and resources....