From Drudge:
In a two part interview airing tonight and tomorrow night on FOX News Channel’s Hannity (9-10PM ET), former Vice President Dick Cheney shared his thoughts on the CIA memos that were recently declassified and also revealed his request to the CIA to declassify additional memos that confirm the success of the Bush administration’s interrogation tactics:
CHENEY:
"One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort. And there are reports that show specifically what we gained as a result of this activity. They have not been declassified."
"I formally asked that they be declassified now. I haven't announced this up until now, I haven't talked about it, but I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country."
See, here's the problem with Obama's approach.
When you signal that you won't investigate and you won't prosecute, you cede the legal issue, and all that's left is how history is written. Instead of letting the rule of law define the dark chapter of American torture, you invite its perpetrators to define it in their own terms.
Cheney doesn't want these memos released. For fuck's sake, you don't waterboard somebody hundreds of times if it actually works. That's not the point. The point is that Cheney will continue to insist that he sanctioned torture to protect the flagwaving babies and the churchgoing puppies that make this country great until such time as the freely known facts make him a liar.
That's why Obama should take Cheney's suggestion and release them immediately.
Call Dick's bluff, now. Do not let this man write his own glorious legacy. We've worked far too hard for that.
What if the memos contain evidence that torture "worked" and saved American lives? I contend that the country is entitled to the facts, whatever they may say, and I'm quite comfortable crossing that particular bridge when we come to it.
[For the record, I am absolutely against torture regardless of its efficacy, or overwhelming lack thereof.]
ACTION EDIT: With a hat tip to Valtin, please go to buhdydharma's diary, posted earlier today, listing many resources. Or stop by Docudharma, where action info is posted each day on the right hand side of the main page.