There've been a plethora of Blogs, Op-Eds, and articles such as this Time piece popping up all over the internet calling for legal action against President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and other high-ranking members considered authors of The Bush Doctrine. "The United States of America does not torture," Bush told us with as straight a face as he can achieve. But that was clearly a lie, and the atrocities that have (and probably are) taking place in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and most recently at Bagram, Afghanistan (discussed in this Time article) are stains on America that will outlive the Bush Presidency if the next Administration does not address the situation.
The world must know that while the Bush Administration did condone and actually order the torturing of enemy combatants, AMERICA does not torture. Personally, I feel Bush was an illegitimate president when he signed the memorandum that lead to the torturing in 2002 because American presidents are not chosen by the Supreme Court. (The fact that he was elected "again" in 2004 is an embarassment.) The world must know that in the United States the Laws are above all else, not individuals. If you break laws, especailly long-established and just laws such as those established by the Geneva Convention and subsequently adopted by America's Congress, you will be held accountable no matter what position you may temporarily hold. Now the question becomes: how can we hold Bush and Company accountable? For the most radical (or sensible, depending on how you look at it) the answer is arrest, try, and incarcerate them all for their crimes. This is hardly plausible. Another would be for President Obama to pardon Bush and others; but for this the fact that they are criminals would have to be acknowledged. Few people, least of all President Obama, want to create that kind of frenzied circus and hostile environment at this point. After all, President Obama is trying to "work across the aisle" and end the divisive politics we've grown accustomed to. The most likely course of action is for the Obama Administration to do nothing. There are many who feel this is in fact the best route to take. What do you think? Please comment and also vote in the poll to the right!
I'd have to say that the standard then should apply despite the severity of the crime as well and therefore Clinton should be tried for lying under oath, which, if any other citizen of the U.S. were to do, should result in punishment of some sort.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to this situation, I think the best thing for Obama to do is to put the Bush years behind him and his administration. It really does nothing substantial or productive to dig up the past 8 years, and diverts time, resources, and attention that could be used for many problems the world is now facing.
Well Clinton WAS impeached. He was just acquitted after a Senate Trial. I would be very happy if Bush was just put on Trial, before Senate or the Judiciary.
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