Since his first months in office, Obama has spared almost no effort to cover-up the torture atrocities committed during the George W. Bush presidency. But it may no longer be possible to sweep the corpses and the manacles under the rug. (I wrote about Obama’s early torture coverups here, here, here, here, here, here, etc.) I previously hammered the Bush administration’s torture policies in practically any publication that was open to my ire.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s attack yesterday on the CIA spying on Senate computers yesterday could be the opening salvo in a long bitter constitutional clash. Feinstein asserted that the CIA claimed that “the removal of the documents [from Senate computers] was ordered by the White House.”
If this is true, then Obama may soon find that he can no longer keep the lid on some of the worst crimes of the modern era. This is perhaps the best opportunity to put a leash on a president in a long time.
Like many Americans, I have been appalled at how few political and legal repercussions have followed from Edward Snowden’s revelations of an NSA crime wave. There have been plenty of other Obama-era constitutional era outrages that I thought should have sparked public outrage and vigorous investigations. But if it requires a clash between the CIA and the Senate to get the ball rolling, so be it.
[the image above is from a Wired.com article in 2011]
What is needed is a massive purification of the country’s political structure. To repeat what I said in 2008, when I ran for the Libertarian Party;s Presidential nomination, we have had no trouble putting 500,000 (and then some) drug users in prison, so there will be absolutely no challenge giving fair trials to 50,000 torturers and erstwhile secret police types.
Thanks for the comment, George. Heck, if we could put 5 torturers in prison – that would be a huge step in the right direction.
This covering up misbehavior of previous presidents has become standard operating procedure.
The critters’ campaign promises of investigating evaporates upon assuming office.
Covering for the previous occupant of the oval orifice gets the new prez a get-out-of-jail-free card in order to avoid all accountability.
I think it’s called thorough corruption.
Glenn Greenwald explains it in his book: With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful
But no matter…March Madness basketball is upon us…
Since Va. Tech didn’t make the list of 64 teams, I’ll keep following the torture scandal.
Dianne’s complaint is actually more on the order of, “How DARE they treat us like Ordinary People?” rather than any substantive outrage over the buttsecksing of Lady LIberty or use of the Constitution for toilet paper.
“buttsecksing”?
You people in Oregon talk weird. Or at least you spell weird.
Ghu only knows what sort of language filters you prim Easterners have installed on your blogs. I particularly liked the one that replaces all objectionable language with “bubblegum,” leading to such idiocies as, “Fire Bubblegumant Clothing.”
This is the third time this week I have been called “prim.” Perhaps I am trimming my beard too often.