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."
This photo constitutes abuse - have reported you to admin mod :)
LOL... Graphic Indeed!
Ugghhhhh! Like a bad car wreck on the highway, I just had to look.
A breakfast treat for you East Coasters. FReepmail me if you'd like to be added to the Helen Thomas ping list.
Damn you...damn you to hell!!!!!!!!!
THAT IS A FLAT-OUT LIE!!!!
lol!!!
Ok, I don’t like making fun of people’s looks, but jeez - for a 119 year old - she hasn’t learned a damn thing about life, has she?!
(Somebody tell Joy Behar there should be an opening soon.)
As for the one on the right, well.........
Heh...
Mornin’ FRiends!
Hope you slept well...
MY DAWG!!!
Whoo Hooooo!!!
Dear Leader a constitutional law professor huh? She can really do some serious investigative work to root out information the rest of the world wasn't aware of. What a gal. Maybe she could find Ø's long form BC.
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.”
Helen, you dumbass, there were no transvestites in the Bush Administration. They’re all Democrats.
Her face looks like a relief map of Afghanistan.
Bush's successful prosecution of a war against a Middle Eastern state is something Helen simply cannot abide.
Hussein and his Obamanation Team have performed more abuses of power in the first month than all of President Bush’s 8 years. They just don’t want you to to know this by shelving the investigations right now. Bty, W’s so called abuses were not abuses but directives to stop the terrorist and NOT to control natural born citizens that loved freedom and hated socialism.
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.”
Oh, really. It doesn’t look like it to me. What happened was the democrat congress was running the economy into the ground with Freddie and Fannie, while Mr Bush was keeping Mohammedans at bay. That is what happened. Looks to me like your gallows list might be a lot shorter than it should be.
This little eye opening, wide open agenda piece of insanity, along with the suggestion that Mr Jimmy jew hater, be some how fit to be at the head of a panel seeking the truth is laughable. The country is going to hell at supersonic spead and these morons are still infected with BDS, which proves once and for all everything ever said about them.
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