Torture: Leadership Requires Accountability, All the Way to the Top

We learned this week that the CIA destroyed tapes of American officials committing torture. The American people deserve to know whether laws were violated and whether the President was directly involved in illegal activities. Torture is a black and white moral issue. A failure to act decisively in this case will be an unacceptable failure of leadership.

Torture is un-American, it violates international law, and it is wrong. And when I am President, I will make sure that those who are responsible for torture are held accountable for their actions.

When I have secured the release of people held in captivity overseas, I have seen the fear in the eyes of captured men and women, and I have spoken with their scared families. To them, the Geneva Convention is not "quaint" or outdated; it is the bedrock institution guaranteeing that no one -- no matter how powerful -- is above the law.

And yet, in the thirteen months since winning back the House and Senate, Democrats in Congress have done too little to force this administration to stop torturing.

Perhaps one reason that Bush and Cheney have been so comfortable with torture is that they feel they will never be held accountable for their actions.

Indeed, despite consistently stating that they can't accomplish anything because they lack a filibuster-proof majority, Senate Democrats failed even to block an Attorney General who equivocated on torture.

They have taken no action on the International Criminal Court.

They have failed to appoint a Special Prosecutor to provide for high-level accountability.

They failed to restore habeas corpus.

They have done nothing to enforce the Constitution or any of our laws against torture.

This must change. If Congress won't act, then our next President must.

The next President must be clearly and unequivocally committed to changing our country's stand on torture, and that is exactly what I pledge to do. Strong leaders are not afraid to be held accountable, nor are they afraid to hold others accountable for acts that we all know are wrong.

As soon I am inaugurated, I will order investigations to find out who is responsible for torture -- those who allowed it, those who sanctioned it, and those who carried it out. We can and will find out who is responsible.

And, once we've completed those investigations -- and if we find cause for prosecution -- I will insist on criminal prosecutions of anyone we find responsible for torture in this current administration. No one will be given a pass. NO ONE is above the law.

John Early, seen in the video below, is a testament to why we must hold people accountable and why we must restore our anti-torture commitment. John was captured in Sudan in 1996 - a dangerous time in a dangerous place. I went to Sudan to help bring John home.

UPDATE: Due to a question of image rights, the video is currently not available for viewing.

When you see this video, you understand the terror that John and his family felt when he was a prisoner. This has real-world implications that affect us all.

As you read this, hundreds of thousands of American men and women are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every day that they stay, they remain in harm's way in a hostile land. And every day that we don't hold people accountable for allowing torture in our name, we place them in ever greater danger. For if we no longer abide by international law, how can we expect or demand that someone else follow it?

America's reputation, liberties, and moral leadership continue to be assaulted by Vice President Cheney and President Bush. If this Congress again fails to get to the bottom of these outrages, I will begin serious investigations as President on January 20th, 2009. We can and must find out who is responsible. If necessary, there will be prosecutions. No one is above the law. No one.

This post is the second in a series on seven by Governor Bill Richardson leading up to the January Caucuses and Primaries. The first post in the series was: Iraq: The Elephant In The Room.

Comments

[LeftRight]

Gov Richards,
I thank you for a fine post, and wonderful sentiment. I wonder, however, why I haven't heard of you saying anything like this anywhere else....

[scooperss]

I'm sorry that I hadn't even considered voting for you.

clinton, obama, dodd, biden all have a chance to show they mean what they say NOW not after becoming president. dodd is the only one WILLING TO SHOW THE VOTERS HE'S ON THEIR SIDE (FISA hold).

clinton, obama, and biden have a chance every time a bill comes up for a vote to make a difference. EVERY TIME they don't.
All they seem to be doing is MOUTHING what voters want to hear, not DOING what voters want. They probably wouldn't do anything different if elected.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Well, Bill, I commend you on taking a stand on
that issue, I think it puts the fun back in
'fundamental' when people start being specific
about what will or won't be happening in our
name as Murkinz, but I still have my doubts...
I think a lot of people went along with the
war and a bunch of this other stuff that
frankly knew what was going on and therefore
knew better and had the opportunity to raise
their objections a long time ago.

I would hope that this entire business
reinforces things like habeas corpus, and the
need for the Constitution to stand at the
forefront of all of our national dealings, both
foreign, and domestic, to better protect the
life and liberty of all involved.

Next question: Where do you stand on the 14th
amendment, and what's your take on illegal
immigration? As governor of a border state,
you must hear this one a lot, but what's
your opinion/perception/outlook on the whole
thing? What would you do as president about
the borders and illegal immigration, if anything?

[illit]

This is great as long as he begins at the top and includes every complicit coward in Congress. This administration and the lackeys of both parties have done more to destroy this country than all of the binLadens in the world.

[MAX1]

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Thank you.

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