Torture Prosecutions: Now or Later?

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Thursday April 23, 2009 · 1:11 AM PDT

2009/04/23 · 01:11

As Meteor Blades discussed on Tuesday, Elizabeth de la Vega, a former federal prosecutor, has advocated waiting to appoint a special prosecutor in the interests of full public disclosure of the torture program and more successful prosecutions. She was on Countdown on Wednesday night to further argue her point (video below the fold).

Unfortunately, her argument misses a key point: the running statute of limitations.

salamander

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Saturday January 17, 2009 · 2:00 PM PST

2009/01/17 · 14:00

In February 2000, historian Geoffrey Parker delivered two lectures entitled The World is Not Enough: The Imperial Vision of Philip II of Spain. The title came from a motto, Non Sufficit Orbis, that Philip had struck on a commemorative medallion. The motto later came to be incorporated into the Royal Arms and is indicative of Philip's strategic vision.

Parker describes Philip's vision as 'messianic imperialism':

Philip II believed absolutely that his interests coincided with those of God. "You are engaged in God's service and in mine, which is the same thing." (pp. 21-22).

Furthermore, he argued that this vision prevented any strategic planning that considered the possibility of failure.

I first read these lectures in the Fall of 2004, after it had become clear that the Iraq War was going much more poorly than the Bush Administration had expected it to. And yet, in the midst of this catastrophe, President Bush continued to speak of the war as divine providence. I was immediately struck by the similarities between this messianic vision and that of Philip II.

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Torture Prosecutions: Now or Later?

The Bush Legacy: Messianic Imperialism