Torture: new president = new policies

Category: National

When it comes to allowing “enhanced interrogations” of suspected enemies, it seems that the Obama administration will not be Bush 2.0.  On Jan. 22, Obama signed executive orders to shut down the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center within a year and to ban harsh interrogations – a reversal of President Bush’s controversial order that allowed him to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions. At the signing, Obama stated: “We think that it is precisely our ideals that give us the strength and the moral high ground to be able to effectively deal with the unthinking violence that we see emanating from terrorist organizations around the world. … We’re going to win [this fight] on our terms.”

On March 13, the Obama administration announced that it would no longer use the term “enemy combatants” as grounds for detaining terrorist suspects, which suggests a change from the prior administration. Of course, we’ll need to wait and see if these executive orders actually eliminate the use of torture by America.

While many critics of the previous president would like to see torture being addressed more concretely by Obama, his actions thus far seem to be headed in the right direction. And he’s not afraid to shake things up. Obama’s appointment of Leon Panetta as head of the CIA came as a surprise to many, especially since he lacks experience in the intelligence world. As former President Clinton’s chief of staff as well as director of Management and Budget, Panetta doesn’t bring much hands-on expertise to the position. What he does bring, however, is a steadfast contempt for many of the controversial Bush administration policies such as rendition and excessively brutal interrogations. In a 2008 article he wrote for Washington Monthly, Panetta said, “We either believe in the dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, or we don’t. There is no middle ground.”

And then there is the growing public outcry for a criminal investigation into the Bush administration’s use of torture to interrogate terrorism suspects and its program of wiretapping U.S. citizens without getting warrants. Obama hasn’t exactly led the charge to determine what persons were responsible for this outrageous behavior, but in the end, he may not have a choice. On Feb. 9, Sen. Patrick Leahy, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for a “truth commission” to look into the Bush administration policies on torture, interrogation and surveillance.

The truth commission would serve as something of a compromise: there would be a formal investigation to satisfy those who demand it, but immunity would be available to those who come forward and confess all. Leahy envisions a commission that not only would allow for prosecution of the guilty, but also set a new standard for government leaders. Leahy gave a detailed explanation about the commission to Rachel Maddow, which you can see below.

[flashvideo filename=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q568YyRoqQ width=300 /]

So, it seems our time for repentance has finally arrived. Whatever your political stripes, I think it is fair to say that we need to evaluate our past actions. Even if you believe that the former president did nothing wrong, we owe it to ourselves to find out. For the sake of unity and global standing, Leahy’s truth commission may bring us the closure we need. If done properly, it could usher in a new age of political responsibility, as well as help restore the trust Americans have for their leaders.

America was founded under the principle that all are created equal, and that none should endure cruel and unusual punishment under the law. Though we may have strayed, our core constitutional values have a way of reasserting themselves after every trial. I am glad to see that in this ordeal, it appears we have finally turned the corner.