As we listen to all the noise streaming around us today about the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s summary of its report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of torture against terrorism suspects, it strikes a few of us as odd at the viscous response of the defenders of the CIA for what’s being reported that they did. Former VP Cheney declaring that what the CIA did thwarted terrorism saved lives and he would do it all again. To President Bush declaring that if the report disparaged any of the patriots at the CIA who were involved in the events surrounding this report, it would be deplorable. And of course the lenity of ex-officials involved at one time or another denying, refuting, outraged and taken a back, declaring that none of the facts were true and otherwise shocked at the outright lies that this report produced. That’s par for the course of a $40 million report from the Senate. Mind you this is only a 600 page summary report not the 6700 page complete report. Again, par for the course. You can’t defend the indefensible!
After the Viet Nam war ended and our POWs were released and brought home the stories started to be heard of the horrendous conditions that they suffered at the hand of the North Viet Cong Army. We learned of the living condition and the sometimes daily torture that these soldiers were made to endure. We as a nation were outraged and rightly so. We could not understand a society that would treat other human beings like animals and use inhuman torture tactics that were relegated to the dark ages. How could one human put another human through the act of drowning time and time again. Or hang a person off the floor with no support subjecting his body to excruciating pain. Or make a person live without clothing at all for long periods. Or introduce thing into the rectum of a person that has no purpose but to cause pain and many more atrocities. Yet this is what was done to our POWs time and time again. This is also what happened to people we captured in our last war. What an outrage.
The United States of America stands for what is right and humane for all people. We have struggled to create a society that values human life and dignity and have tried to create a functioning democracy through our constitution that provides that. We have learned the hard way by our many mistakes and missteps that the consequences for not holding to those aspirations are too severe in blood and treasure for our citizens. And yet we continue to fall short ourselves by the misdeeds of our leaders, local to national, and the people who encourage and support them in the use of inhumane and undignified methods of dealing with people at home and abroad.
Every time someone uses the excuse of protecting our nation by abusing, harming or killing someone to get the supposed information need to achieve that purpose, we lose as a nation. Not that we lose in the eyes of other countries, which we do, but that we lose in the eyes of our fellow countrymen. Yes we will protect our great nation but we will do it by the rule of law and with the dignity of a great people.
Today’s noise is just another indefensible situation in a long line of indefensible situations that is causing many, many people to question once again why our leaders are doing things or letting things be done to people who deserve better. American citizens’ deserve better. We the people are the only ones who are going to be able to hold them accountable and it will take all of us who are of a like mind to do it. As we have all seen, things are not going to change with the political structure we have now. It has to change. We are going to have to change it. If we continue to sit on our collective asses and do nothing then we can’t bitch at what we get. WE NEED TO MAKE THE CHANGE TOGETHER!