Shamefully we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management.
Senator Edward Kennedy
No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
United Nations Convention Against Torture
A Perfect Catch-22
Those who ordered torture cannot be prosecuted because they weren’t present when the torture was done, and those who administered the torture cannot be prosecuted because they were just following orders. All nice and neat, no harm no foul, a perfect Catch-22.
Note: Some don't get that the above paragraph is sarcasm so I thought I'd add a note pointing out that it is.
Obama exempts CIA 'torture' staff
Amnesty International said the Department of Justice appeared to be offering a "get-out-of-jail-free card" to individuals who were involved in acts of torture.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights, which has championed the legal rights of the "war on terror" detainees, also expressed its disappointment.
"It is one of the deepest disappointments of this administration that it appears unwilling to uphold the law where crimes have been committed by former officials," it said in a statement.
BBC
We should look forward and not backward. There are many criminals who would love to use such a defense, but unless they’re one of the over-privileged well-connected assholes who run amuck at the highest levels of our government, they’ll never get away with it.
"Strange how blind people are! They are horrified by the torture chambers of the Middle Ages, but their arsenals fill them with pride!"
Bertha Von Suttner
Though understandable, I think it may be misguided to blame Obama entirely. This is not to excuse his failure of leadership in upholding the rule of law, but I honestly believe he is limited in the extent to which he can confront the CIA and hold them accountable for their heinous crimes. I think the last guy who tried that got shot (ooh conspiracy theory).
Yes, I believe the CIA has the power, means and inclination to rub out anyone who dares oppose them. Personally, I’d rather be squashed like a bug than to sit silently as we become the United States of Torturers and Thieves.
If cruelty is no longer declared unlawful, but instead is applied as a matter of policy, it alters the fundamental relationship of man to government. It destroys the whole notion of individual rights. The Constitution recognizes that man has an inherent right, not bestowed by the state or laws, to personal dignity, including the right to be free of cruelty. It applies to all human beings, not just in America -- even those designated as 'unlawful enemy combatants.' If you make this exception the whole Constitution crumbles.
Alberto J. Mora, former Navy General Counsel
Damn them! Damn them all - every last one of them who ordered, excused or participated at any level in torture. There is no excusing it. They should be investigated, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law. There should be no exceptions. Period.
The very thought that we would let them get away with this is repugnant. What have we become? We executed Germans and Japanese for acts such as these. ‘Just following orders’ was deemed to be no excuse at all. Now we’re just going to look the other way because it’s our guys doing the torture? How can anybody be okay with this? How can we let this stand?
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
Friedrich Nietzche
If these crimes go unpunished, no one will ever again be safe from the possibility of torture - not our soldiers and not our citizens. The USA no longer has a moral leg to stand on when it comes to opposing anyone’s torture by foreign governments or from any other party. And if our government can torture foreign nationals with impunity, who’s to say that they cannot do the same to American citizens? No one, that’s who.
Our hypocrisy in opposing torture elsewhere in the world is breathtaking. Who are we to say that these hideous acts should never occur...unless we see fit? We have forfeited all moral standing on this issue – and people will surely be tortured because of it. I especially fear for our men and women in uniform.
If you don't want to be beaten, imprisoned, mutilated, killed or tortured then you shouldn't condone such behavior towards anyone, be they human or not.
Moby
We forego justice at our own peril. See Richard Milhouse Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush the first. We failed to hold these men accountable for their crimes, and these failures led directly to the disastrous reign of George W. Bush. Now we have a fresh start but far too little has changed. Bad precedents have been allowed to stand.
We have so far allowed George W. Bush and his minions to get away with some of the worst crimes in recent memory. This is a very dangerous precedent and does not bode well for the future.
We don't torture people in America and people who say we do simply know nothing about our country.
George W. Bush [Interview with Australian TV - October 18, 2003]
Not impeaching Bush/Cheney was a catastrophic failure. If we continue to ignore the rule of law we will surely reap the whirlwind.
If we can’t learn the most obvious lessons of our own recent history, we are fools.
Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.
Barack Obama
Well said Mister President. Now let’s put some teeth behind those words.