Thursday, April 23, 2009
'We need to step back and ask ...'
Harvey Silverglate parks one on the torture/prosecution debate. The self-righteous on both sides won’t like it – which is one reason why it’s so good. … FYI: In an earlier piece, Harvey seems to contradict himself on the prosecution issue by citing the gruesome Regina v. Dudley and Stephens case. But the difference is that Dudley, Stephens and Brooks didn’t have lawyers scribbling legal memos from the bow of the boat to justify killing and chowing down on their lifeboat mate. …
Obama has been disappointing in all this. He initially took a common-sense and common-law approach toward the issue, condemning torture practices while resisting passionate calls to prosecute. His stance was not unlike Gerry Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon – then an unpopular decision that many years later came to believe was indeed a wise and courageous move. But Obama has since buckled to the self-righteous. Not exactly a profile in courage. … In Obama’s defense, I don’t see what’s wrong with the administration’s release of the torture memos. It’s not as if we didn’t already know this stuff came right from the top within the White House. ...
Harvey Silverglate parks one on the torture/prosecution debate. The self-righteous on both sides won’t like it – which is one reason why it’s so good. … FYI: In an earlier piece, Harvey seems to contradict himself on the prosecution issue by citing the gruesome Regina v. Dudley and Stephens case. But the difference is that Dudley, Stephens and Brooks didn’t have lawyers scribbling legal memos from the bow of the boat to justify killing and chowing down on their lifeboat mate. …
Obama has been disappointing in all this. He initially took a common-sense and common-law approach toward the issue, condemning torture practices while resisting passionate calls to prosecute. His stance was not unlike Gerry Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon – then an unpopular decision that many years later came to believe was indeed a wise and courageous move. But Obama has since buckled to the self-righteous. Not exactly a profile in courage. … In Obama’s defense, I don’t see what’s wrong with the administration’s release of the torture memos. It’s not as if we didn’t already know this stuff came right from the top within the White House. ...
