Posted on 03/05/2009 12:46:21 AM PST by seanmerc
WASHINGTON -- Can Americans face the truth about the Bush administration’s abuse of power?
I believe so, but clearly President Barack Obama and some Democratic lawmakers think they can’t. Or possibly they don’t want to be bogged down in a search which could be viewed as vindictive against the former regime. Too bad.
Obama -- a former constitutional law professor -- has ruled out a look backward, claiming that any review of possible illegalities by Bush and his coterie would lead to "politics that have made Washington dysfunctional."
Picking up on the last Bush mantra that we should move "forward," Obama with his don’t-rock-the-boat perspective is not about to nail his predecessor. After all, Obama is now a member of the club and shows signs of fitting in very quickly and easily.
President Richard M. Nixon had a more courageous opposition in the form of the Democratic-led impeachment drive that led to his resignation in disgrace.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., quickly took any discussion of Bush impeachment off the table because she feared such a prosecution would disrupt the Democratic legislative agenda.
This double standard embraced by nervous politicians nourishes the perception that laws do not apply equally when politicians seek to protect each other.
Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, are the few congressional leaders who have the courage to say in effect: "Stop the music. We can’t go forward until we have a clear understanding of what travesties were perpetrated by the Bush administration."
They reflect the view of philosopher George Santayana that if we do not remember the past we are condemned to repeat it in the future.
But we’re not talking about grand jury indictments here.
Leahy is proposing the creation of a "truth-finding panel" designed "to get to the bottom of what happened -- and why -- to make sure it never happens again."
Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: "For much of this decade, we have read about and witnessed such abuses as the scandal at Abu Ghraib (the notorious prison near Baghdad), the disclosure of torture memos and the revelation of warrantless surveillance of Americans."
He noted that some political leaders "say do nothing." A few senators even tried to make Attorney General Eric Holder promise in his confirmation hearings that he would not prosecute anyone for Bush-era lawbreaking.
"At the opposite end of the spectrum, others say that even if it takes many years and divides the country and distracts from the urgent priority of fixing the economy, we must prosecute the Bush administration to lay down a marker," Leahy said.
"It is easier for prosecutors to net those far down the ladder than those at the top, who set the tone and the policies," the senator noted.
Thus, low-ranking soldier-guards at Abu Ghraib were prosecuted, but their commanders and CIA personnel -- who inflicted cruel, inhuman "enhanced interrogation" such as "waterboarding," which simulates drowning, have gone free.
The inhumane policies on treatment of prisoners were set by Vice President Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and legal advisers in Bush’s White House and Justice Department. Those higher-ups haven’t paid the price for approving torture.
Leahy said the truth panel should include people universally recognized as fair-minded and without axes to grind.
"Their straightforward mission would be to find the truth," he said. "People would be invited to come forward and share their knowledge and experiences, not for purposes of constructing criminal indictments but to assemble the facts."
Leahy also said that immunity from prosecution could be given in order to get the whole truth.
I suggest that former President Jimmy Carter would make a fine chairman of the suggested truth forum.
Leahy’s bottom line: "We need to get to the bottom of what happened -- and why -- to make sure it doesn’t happen again."
Keep this photo in your wallet...
it is the visual syruyp of ipicac....if you ever find yourself starting to believe the leftist lies...look at it and vomit out the poison.
oh the eyes, it’s too early
that is a hell of a large picture, i was overcome by it
When will Helen Thomas be prosecuted?
Obama's as much a "law professor" as I am - an "adjunct" professor grades papers - maybe - and fills in for lecturers more occupied in kissing up to the tenure committee.
No show trials, Helen, sorry. That's for the ones who lose the war, and we won it. Despite you.
Monsieur requires a bucket...
;-/
YAAAAARRRK!
*snicker/OMG* ....That indeed, is a very (horrid) graphic...
anymore like that,I'll have to replace the monitor.
the one on the left is....
much much prettier....
(from/on this side)
TELL THE DOG TO FIRE!!!! What is he waiting for??!
much sexier ...
much more charming ...
much smarter
much less biased ...
and puts out much less BS!
Helen has enormous oral talent, ready to be unleashed on the president.
“I suggest that former President Jimmy Carter would make a fine chairman of the suggested truth forum.”
As if her pictures don’t gag me enough.
Cahtah would make a fine moron for falsehood-finding.
Helen and all the tool Dems like her are only bristling with BDS because they’re backlashing against the “abuse” Klintoon took (gave) during his 8 heinous years. They hate how BoyToy was impeached and grilled by the comedians and the populace at large.
Is that for Helen or for “sean”?
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