The demands for the nascent Obama administration to fully investigate the crimes, up to and including war crimes, of the Bush administration are legion. Keith Olbermann's special comment on the subject, delivered last Monday in the man's patented, outraged style, has been passed around the liberal blogosphere like a joint filled with kind. Everybody wanted a hit.
And it's not as though such cries don't have merit -- scads and scads of merit, given the orgy of torture, rendition, warrantless wiretaps and other horrorshow policies that have been the hallmark of the Bush years. The Fourth Amendment, perhaps my favorite one of the bunch, is little more than a punchline these days, a minor detail that government officials on the state and federal levels are now free to consider an insufferable annoyance to be sidestepped, rather than a sacred right enumerated in our founding document. What I'm trying to say is, I'm as bug-eyed angry about the Bush years as anyone. But drag the whole damned crew up on war crimes? The Machiavellian side of me calls that a bad idea.
The current state of the Republican Party is a source of pride for partisan Democrats. The GOP skids ever closer to the dustbin of history, where lie the Whigs, the Know-Nothings ... all the half-bright, half-baked ideas of political history. The Republican Party is beginning to look like the phrenology of political thought. Now, how best to strike the coup de grace? What serves to deal the merciful blow better -- a massive investigation of any and all Republicans having anything to do with the disaster of the previous eight years, or simply quietly overlooking them, acting already as if they don't matter?
What we know for certain is that the mushy middle of the country wants to move on. They want the cooperation and bipartisanship that Barack Obama has promised. And if the Democrats can show those people that they're making every effort to reach across that aisle, even as they push a solidly progressive agenda, the Democrats have the opportunity to effect a seismic shift in voter trends. Karl Rove once boasted of creating a permanent Republican majority through his brand of slash-and-burn politics, so it's particularly ironic that now, less than a decade later, the Democrats have the opportunity to do the same, mainly because of the utter failure of Rove's methods.
The Democratic Party will only get one shot at killing the GOP with kindness. If it elects instead to put every ex-Bushie before a congressional committee, to investigate every alleged crime and misdeed of the Bush administration, the opportunity will be lost. We will return to the bomb-throwing, trench-warfare politics of the past several decades, and the huge gains that Obama has made for the Democratic Party's image as the adults in Washington will be destroyed by the endless partisan battles that follow.
But if the Democrats instead move ahead with Obama's agenda, they may do so over the howls and cries of an obstructionist opposition, but it is an opposition whose cries will grow softer, more pleading than outraged, until one day, there will be no cries at all. Which is not to say we ever could -- or, especially, should -- have a one-party system. But the very real possibility that the GOP could be replaced with something that offers actual good ideas for the 21st century is a welcome thought.
But if not, if the Democrats do resolve to step back in the trenches and man the cannons, understand that I'll be there, shrugging my shoulders at what might have been a nice idea, sharpening up the bayonet and waiting for the whistle, to make the charge to no man's land.
The decision rests not with Obama but with Holder. I don't expect to see it happen.
Torture will not go unpunished.
when you have been shot by an arrow it is more important to get it out than to try and find out who shot you"
A man went to the Buddha insisting on answers to these questions, but the Buddha instead put a question to him: "If you were shot by a poison arrow, and a doctor was summoned to extract it, what would you do? Would you ask such questions as who shot the arrow, from which tribe did he come, who made the arrow, who made the poison, etc., or would you have the doctor immediately pull out the arrow?"
"Of course," replied the man, "I would have the arrow pulled out as quickly as possible." The Buddha concluded, "That is wise, for the task before us is the solving of life's problems; until the problems are solved, these questions are of secondary importance."
I have been thinking on this story for the last few days in regards to Bushco and trials.
Buddha "said" no such thing.
The idea is to convert and persuade all those you can, then prosecute the worst of the die hards.
Too many prosecution would be bad, but say 100 of the top offenders would do the trick.
This country and the world for that matter can not heal without justice. We set the standard and we have to set the example for fairness and accountability. To look the other way is to become accomplices in these crimes. What will that tell the world?
We can break the law, but will be very upset if you do the same,
Shame, shame on you, world.
The Justice Department should pursue legal action against Gonzalez, Rove et al for their actions in injecting politics into that department. I would hate to see congress get bogged down in hearings at this time of financial crisis in this country, we need to have some of the republicans supporting the democrats and Obama and having these hearings would just promote more devisive politics between the two parties and Americans are fed up with that.
Is there rule of law or not?
For them to all make a statement and or open confessions that they did on multiple counts millions of counts in some cases willfully violate multiple Federal Laws and also violated the Bill of Rights and the 4th, 8th and 4th even I'm sure the 1st Amendment and Constitution...so as to avoid prosecution otherwise...!
This way for posterity it is known they were criminals...
Then there's all the crimes of KBR and Haliburton will they be investigated and prosecuted...and those within the administration who were party to these many criminal acts and who gained financially from them what about all of those crimes and billions stolen..?
"Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (One Love!);
There is one question I'd really love to ask (One Heart!):
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner,
Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own beliefs?"
What about this new found perastroyka between reps & dems, hows that working 3rd day into this administration and what do the trends of harmony look like? Are these people, (rep) set aside a few that may be up for re-election, acting like they want to be responsible in a bipartisan fashion? They act more like they are getting their marching orders from Palin's "Moose-Central Head-Quarters".
While I have personally complained about Keith and Rachel jumping the gun (as Omama wasn't sworn in yet) about this particular subject, they are right about holding hearings and or trials if warranted. Forget the cost or possible distractions (Obama should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time) because you and I would never ever forgive or let slide any other transgression or maleficence of law. (Stephens, Coleman etc)
If and when this administration sets aside the law, they become as guilty as those who broke it.
I just don't want the headlines to be all about who is getting a subpoena today, blah, blah, blah. Really think about how these things play out. I want to see headlines about people getting back to work, new businesses thriving, troops coming home, etc.
The other sad truth is that it's very likely President Obama will have to make some very difficult, borderline "illegal" decisions during his time in office. We have enemies and sometimes we have to play rough. My father worked at the highest levels of the federal government under Carter and Reagan and what we DON'T know about what goes on behind the scenes is very scary.
Be prepared for the outrage and disdain of every civilized nation. Picture the first arrest of a damned-well-guilty American soldier or politician who travels overseas, smugly certain the world will accept the pass their own country has given them. Expect the incursion of justice agents, and the forced removal of an American war criminal. The rendition to The Hague. The refusal of the U.N. to demand the criminal's return. Tthe trial, conviction and sentence.
THAT is the scenario we will deal with, sooner or later, if we don't deal with these criminals openly, on a national stage.
Criminals are brought to justice because of actions that have occurred -- a murderer goes to jail because IN THE PAST he killed. To declare that treason, torture and unlawful imprisonment will not be prosecuted, simply because they are in the past, is to state crime is acceptable. Acceptable -- as long as it is committed by politicians, their collegues, friends or associates..
It is imperative we put Bush, Cheney, Rice and every instigator to these barbarous acts on trial, and convict them of treason and war crimes. That, or turn the evidence over to The Hague, and accept the decision made in that forum.
There is no argument of "devils advocate" when you have place these egregious acts in their proper order and the consequences maybe all Americans would face abroad.
Something else you so eloquently submitted "...crimes against citizens of other countries,...", While I'll willingly add, crimes against our own citizens. Eavesdropping, outing of secret-agents, circumventing transparency of public-office-and-trust. Oh man, the list is too long for me to even mention here.
THANKS.
It has not been long since ENRON and not long before that it was the Keating Five. No significant punishment for either of those and what happens we have characteristics of both those criminal events on a grand scale today!
Our Constitution, our Laws, and our Regulations are all we have that makes us a NATION!
If politicians can simply chose to bypass them without penalty then what is to stop the next bunch from moving up many levels like they did this time.
Our GDP is around $14 Trillion but Bush/Cheney/Paulson/Rove helped and allowed the Investment Banks to generate over $600 Trillion in Fake "AAA" Toxic paper that if left to its own would take 25 years to unwind! Our country has been pushed to the BRINK! The next time it would go over the BRINK if we do not establish the RULE OF LAW and FE_AR for violating it!
It has only been since 2004 that Enron was settled and here we are with FAR WORSE!
Your argument boils down to nothing more than let's all play nice, because we don't want the other side to get mad.
Pure nonsense.
We have prisons bursting at the seams from people who have been convicted of breaking the law, especially pressed forward by these "law and order" Republicans. Now that they have become a criminal class, prison seems to be too good for these criminals.
You suggest they get the Madoff treatment.
If these criminals don't go to jail, and I mean all of them, then these words do not apply to these white crooks:
Equal Justice Under Law
Words ascribed to the Justice Dept.
http://pix.alaporte.net/pub/d/16812-1/Equal+Justice+Under+Law+and+Under+Netting.JPG
And bottom line:
You are advocating unequal justice under law.
As efficient as Obama is, I'd assume he'd just clean the rot out of the government agencies and fill those spaces with good people.
It would seem more like the AG's job, as charges are brought against the individual and Holder has enough evidence to move forward with a particular case, no?