A Shameful Chapter

I had a very interesting experience yesterday. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn held a town hall meeting in downtown OKC, and I decided to attend, so I could experience what a town hall meeting was all about. First, a disclaimer: I have a lot of respect for Sen. Coburn, despute his far right beliefs. He does a lot of good work here in the state, and, generally, he stands up for what he beleives in, even if it is not exactly popular here in Oklahoma. He showed an ability to do this several times yesterday, such as when he defended his vote for the stimulus bill, and his personnel friendship with the president. Ok, all that said, I strongly disagree with him about health care. He does not support the public plan, but instead wants to reform insurance companies and continue with what we have. I obviously disagree with him on this, and when I had a chance to meet him afterwards, I told him this.

Anyways, I want to get away from the health care debate for tonight. This week has seen the unveiling of a lot of news concerning national security procedures during the Bush Administration. The revelation last week by former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge that the Bush Administration politicized the terror threat level is not unexpected, but still disgusting nonetheless. The fact that the former leaders of this country would use the threat of terrorism to win elections is absolutely abhorrent. This is something that you expect from totalitarian regimes in other countries that hold fake elections, not from the United States presidency. I wish it were possible to go after the people behind this in a court of law. But I guess we will just have to rely on the other big revelation this week to get Cheney and Rove. The CIA report on interrogation techniques is also disgusting. Prisoners were threatened with guns, electric drills, and threats to their families. Some torture even went so far that detainees were mentally scarred so bad that they can never defend themselves in a court of law, or were even killed. Is that what you want America doing to people? It disgusts me to think our leaders approved these things, and even praised the merits of torture. These things are all prohibited by U.S. law and the Geneva Convention. And what purpose did these methods serve? None at all. CIA interrogators have reported that detainees were more likely to turn over useful info when they were being treated well. Al-Qaeda officer Khalid sheik-Mohammad, who was tortured nearly to death, said in an interview that he often gave false info during torture, and when he was offered chocolate chip cookies, he finally turned over useful intel. KSM also said that Al-Qaeda actively uses U.S. torture to recruit young Arab men, because of the evil image it protects on the U.S. Now that we have proof that the Bush Administration authorized these tactics, it is a no brainer that certain officals should be prosecuted. Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed a prosecuter to try people and hopefully he will have the guts to go after those at the highest levels. All of this reminds me of the Nixon Administration. Richard Nixon once said that anything the president does is legal, and he has been roundly criticized for that statement for three decades. Isn't this basically the prinicple that President Bush and those around him operated on? Do you think anyone in the Bush Administration has actually read the Constitution. I just finished re-reading it for a class, and when I think about what went on in the last eight years, it makes me angry! The utter disregard for what our country truly stands for is absolutely insulting! What right did those people have to do just whatever they wanted while they were in office? We are not a totalitarian country. We are a country based on the rule of law, and nobody is above that law, not even the president, and especially not Bush, Cheney, or Rove. And as for the argument that these people were terrorists, so the treatment was justified is bull. All prisoners have rights. It is a key idea that we are built on. How can you claim to be defending our country when you are tearing down the laws that that country is built on!?! In fact, this is beyond an argument for the respect of our country. This is a moral issue. It is morally wrong to torture anyone, no matter how evil they are. I don't believe the Bible advocates torture. In fact, the Bible says to love your enemies. I didn't read a disclaimer under that that says, "Except for Muslim terrorists." Maybe if we spent less time doing these abominable things, and instead tried to reach out and make friendly relations with others, then we wouldn't have to worry about terrorism.