Gibbs confirms that torture memo authors are ‘not being held accountable.’
Gibbs confirms that torture memo authors are ‘not being held accountable.’
Yesterday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said that when it came to the Bush administration’s illegal torture program, “those who devised the policies…should not be prosecuted.” Today, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed that these officials would not be “held accountable”:
CNN’S ED HENRY: Just so I understand, you’re saying the people in the CIA who followed through on what they were told was legal, they should not be prosecuted? But why not the Bush administration lawyers who, in the eyes of a lot of your supporters on the left, twisted the law, why are they not being held accountable?
GIBBS: The president is focused on looking forward. That’s why.
Watch it:
When he released the torture memos last week, President Obama reaffirmed, I believe strongly in transparency and accountability,” and repeated that “the United States is a nation of laws.”
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No Investigations, Just Us, Now the American Way…
April 20th, 2009 at 4:08 pmOkay
Now that you’ve established transparency , where in the hell is the accountability ?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:08 pmI will hold Obama accountable for this very bad decision!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:09 pmReleasing the memos will haunt the right and Bush forever that’s Bush’s punishment he can’t hide from that or walk away from it will always be attached to him
April 20th, 2009 at 4:10 pmObama better score some MAJOR concessions from the Repukes in congress for this! Doubtful…
April 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pmAnd I bet Bernie Madoff is wishing he had used the “let’s just focus on looking forward” defense.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pmVaranus komodoensis Says:
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Releasing the memos will haunt the right and Bush forever that’s Bush’s punishment he can’t hide from that or walk away from it will always be attached to him
April 20th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
As if that dishonorable and mindless cretin is going to even give that a moment’s thought ?
He couldn’t give a flying fu(k ; if he did , he never would have done it , or any of the other illegal and stupid things he did , over his sorry 8 years in office……………
April 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pmThe behavior described is all about the unitary executive. Obama banned the technique that Bush implemented.
The court system is nowhere to be found. That’s a huge mistake. Then Americans are at the whim of the good king or bad king.
This is patently bad governance in a functioning democracy. Rulings are needed to control our elected officials. Who knows what the next President will do?
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:14 pmGIBBS: The president is focused on looking forward. That’s why.
Fine. Appoint a Special Prosecutor to look at the past. Thank you.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:14 pmUnacceptable!
Forgive me but I am truly angry. This “Looking Forward” crap smacks of fear of Republicans. Fear of the truth.
Our laws and the President’s oath demand equal justice under law. It is not one law for some and one law for someone else.
President Bush and those under his direct authority broke the law. He tortured. The evidence is overwhelming.
President Obama said that “no one is above the law”.
Well are they Mr. President or aren’t they???
April 20th, 2009 at 4:17 pmI guess we are only “a nation of laws” on some things, and not on others!!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:19 pmnellre Says:
I will hold Obama accountable for this very bad decision!
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It’s actually not a bad decision, it’s really time to move on I sure in hell’s don’t want to go back 8 years ago, no not me.
Let’s say Britain wanted to file charges against those CIA agents and or Bush? The US would still have to defend them no matter what and whats worst than defending criminals who you know actually did authorized the use of torture? How could any conscionable lawyer live with that?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:21 pmThis is a horrible decision and even worse rationale. “Looking forward not back.” I would be laughed out of court if I tried to argue that. There is beyond probable cause to believe that a war crime was committed. Obama HAS to do more than look forward.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:23 pmVaranus komodoensis Says:
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nellre Says:
I will hold Obama accountable for this very bad decision!
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It’s actually not a bad decision, it’s really time to move on I sure in hell’s don’t want to go back 8 years ago, no not me.
Let’s say Britain wanted to file charges against those CIA agents and or Bush? The US would still have to defend them no matter what and whats worst than defending criminals who you know actually did authorized the use of torture? How could any conscionable lawyer live with that?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Every “great” lawyer is considered that because of their ability to win , and they are the ones who are paid exorbitant rates for their “skills” ; not socially or morally conscious attorneys……….
April 20th, 2009 at 4:27 pmWe are now a nation which tortures innocent men, women, and children. This lack of responsibility will increase the bad reputation we currently have and will also serve to improve terrorist recruitment. We are as bad as the worst of history.
I am disappointed with the Obama administration. Surely we are NOT a nation of laws.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:29 pmWHY IS OBAMA MAKING THE SAME ARGUMENT TO IGNORE OUR LAWS THAT BUSH AND CHENEY MADE TO VIOLATE THEM?
I am a staunch Obama supporter……It’s not “looking to the past” to ENFORCE the LAW. Since WHEN is NOT enforcing the law an acceptable option in AMERICA? It is “ignoring the law” to choose to ALLOW LAWBREAKERS TO GO UNPROSECUTED FOR THEIR CRIMES. Since WHEN is the POLITICAL ramifications of prosecution an acceptable or relevant argument?
WHERE does President Obama draw the line when it comes to IGNORING illegal acts? Is it EVERYONE in AMERICA who broke the law during Bush’s/Cheney’s reign; or is it ONLY those who were active participants in AIDING and or ABETTING Bush and Cheney? Since WHEN is someone who aids and abets a crime not subject to CRIMINAL prosecution?
The precedents that President Obama would set in failing to hold Bush administration appointees and or employees legally accountable for their illegal actions if FAR MORE DANGEROUS TO AMERICA’S FUTURE than whatever POLITICAL COST we might pay.
How can a Constitutional Law Professor advocate IGNORING the reasons that America was founded as a NATION OF LAWS instead of a NATION OF MEN?!
President Obama is WRONG to PREVENT the prescribed enforcement of our laws. In making the argument that “we have more pressing matters to consider”, he is making the SAME ARGUMENT to IGNORE our laws that the Bush administration made to VIOLATE them. The ends DO NOT justify the means!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:32 pmthat’s MAJOR bullshit.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:32 pmWrong answer, wrong policy. The only way you reduce the chances of this happening again is to investigate and prosecute the wrongdoing. As a US citizen and taxpayer I do not tolerate my employees excusing the criminal conduct of the now-terminated help.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:33 pmPresident Obama reaffirmed, I believe strongly in transparency and accountability,” and repeated that “the United States is a nation of laws.”
Obama is a liar!
Without enforcement laws are nothing. Enforcement is by it’s nature looking backward. Why not have Leahy be the attorney general and let him send “sternly worded” letters to criminals.
I don’t care what he else he does, obama has let our country down. he is just as bad as bush and I hope he gets tried for war crimes.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:35 pmPresident Obama COULD have his justice Dept. Appoint a Special Prosecuter to look into Allegations of War Crimes.
Obama Clearly Does NOT Want to go there.
WHY???
I can think of Two Reasons, both of which may be True:
1. Powerfull DEMOCRATS could also be IMPLICATED. An investigation could show Democrat Fingerprints all over this.
2. Powerfull FOREIGN COUNTRIES could likewise be IMPLICATED. They may have been involved in Rendition or Worse.
Clearly, Transparency is out the Window with respect to this matter.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:36 pmMaybe someday we’ll find about the threats he’s received.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:37 pmI seem to remember another president who wanted to look forward instead of holding Nixon accountable for his actions. It cost him his job in the 1976 election.
I hope President Obama has thought this through.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:38 pm(Cheney in his undisclosed location 35 years ago) – Well, I guess Nixon won’t be prosecuted for any of his past deeds. Gosh, glad to clear that up. Now I’ll just wait about 40 years until they forget all this, and we’ll see just how powerful we can make the Unitary Executive.
These boobs in Obama’s administration are going to rue this day because it’s old farts like Cheney who will never give up and never give in – unless they are cornered like plague-filled rats with FEAR of jail for the crimes they’ve committed. I think every person who’s committed a crime should get one of these ‘get-out-of-jail’ cards…don’t you?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:38 pmwiley Says:
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Maybe someday we’ll find about the threats he’s received.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
That doesn’t alleviate the burden of responsibility he accepted when he took the oath of office……..And one of those is to make certain illegal activities , if they occurred during his predecessor’s tenure , are investigated and summarily prosecuted to the fullest extent………
April 20th, 2009 at 4:40 pmBadger Says:
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President Obama COULD have his justice Dept. Appoint a Special Prosecuter to look into Allegations of War Crimes.
Obama Clearly Does NOT Want to go there.
WHY???
I can think of Two Reasons, both of which may be True:
1. Powerfull DEMOCRATS could also be IMPLICATED. An investigation could show Democrat Fingerprints all over this.
em>
DING! We have a Winner! This issue just isn’t worth the pain it would cause Pelosi and Reid from Obama’s perspective. He needs them to pass his agenda; they were in the loop on all of this stuff and they can’t be embarassed with an investigation. Period.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:41 pmKO, please have a special comment section on this.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:42 pmNo, Obama HASN’T thought this through. Let the Republicans squeal! They’re so law and orderly, except when it happens to them. Two tiers of justice is no justice.
Methinks I’m beginning to regret this Obama fellow. And he seemed like such a nice, upstanding chap – until he showed his true face to protect those in the same political class. (Unless they have a super-secret plan to put these war criminals in jail, I’m gonna have to go with what’s out there.) And what’s out there is pretty rank.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:42 pmI guess that willingly committing a crime to cover up known crimes is the example that President Obama wants to set for his own children, America, and the watching world.
Does this mean that Obama now needs to apologize for American prosecution of Japanese soldiers who were convicted of waterboarding their prisoners during WW2?
Maybe someday we will have a rule of law applied equally for all citizens and actually abide by it.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:42 pmPertinent re-post: I’ve faxed and emailed all of my reps with the following (aling with far & wide media cc’s):
___
I’ve posted the full Bybee memo here:
http://www.bgladd.com/PDF/ByBeeOLC080102TortureMemo.pdf
And this as well:
http://www.bgladd.com/PDF/JayBybeeWanted.jpg (pay it forward)
April 20th, 2009 at 4:42 pmBadger Says:
President Obama COULD have his justice Dept. Appoint a Special Prosecuter to look into Allegations of War Crimes.
Obama Clearly Does NOT Want to go there.
WHY???
I can think of Two Reasons, both of which may be True:
1. Powerfull DEMOCRATS could also be IMPLICATED. An investigation could show Democrat Fingerprints all over this.
2. Powerfull FOREIGN COUNTRIES could likewise be IMPLICATED. They may have been involved in Rendition or Worse.
Clearly, Transparency is out the Window with respect to this matter.
If this situation doesn’t change, our democracy is finished. We’ve been damn close anyway since WWII. Two Hundred-Thirty-Three years since the American Revolution. God knows how many have died to protect our democracy. And for what? For THIS?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:44 pmKeltoi Says:
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April 20th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Who did you vote for again ?
Don’t tell everyone what Obama “needs” if you voted for the stupid wrinkled old moron that was Obama’s competitor…..
April 20th, 2009 at 4:44 pmThere’s got to be a good reason for these decision. I’m going to give the Obama administration time to work this out.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:45 pmBecause people who want the law upheld are just bent on “retribution”.
I think the Obama Administration has had harsher words for those who want justice than for those who made torture possible.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:45 pmSo Congress needs to take this up.
Push Congress on this.
Besides, they’re the ones that let Bush get away with this horrible behavior for 5 years.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:47 pmSHAME! SHAME! SHAME ON OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!
It is official now: Obama is obstructing JUSTICE! Obama the WAR PRESIDENT (Afegahnistan!)!!! Obama from now on OWNS BUSH/CHENNEY’S WAR CRIMES!!!!!
Obama No “Change”!!!!
SHAME ON YOU MR. FAKE OBAMA!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:49 pmWhen diod it become up to the POTUS whom to prosecute or not? Or whom to hold accountable or not?
I thought we had Judges and court rooms for this type of thing. Is he saying that no one has the right to prosecute these people?
April 20th, 2009 at 4:50 pmThen Obama administration officials will be complicit in the Bush administration’s crimes against himanity and be joining in the on-going criminal conspiracy!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:55 pm…as I said before: Obama is just the ‘New Puppet’ of the Military Congressional Industrial Complex. He is with them! Not with the People!
And one more thing: These War Crimes were commited in the name of the American People.
The American People were very loud and clear on the last two election, 2006 / 2008.
CHANGE THE COURE! REESTABLISH THE RULE OF LAW! PROSECUTE THE WAR CRIMINALS!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:56 pmFDL has a petition we can sign that calls for Attorney General Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor. You can sign it here:
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/Prosecutor
The deadline for signing it is 9 AM this Thursday morning, Apr 23.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:57 pm@Wayne Ant Schneider Says:
FDL has a petition we can sign that calls for Attorney General Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor.
____
I signed it immediately. Everyone should do likewise.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:00 pmOBAMA, THE WAR CRIMINAL! (after all, he is ’surging’ in Afegahnistan, and killing civilians with drone attacks in Pakistan) He ie as War President!
Worse! He full support for Israel had his administration boycoting UN conference on racism! And Australia followed it too! Australia!!!! the most racist, ignorant and arrongat nation on earth! (I know! I live here!)
April 20th, 2009 at 5:00 pmThis retribution ‘crap thing’… MR. Obama, try to use the same argument of ‘looking foward and retribution crap’ on the Nazis and Japanese WWII War criminals! Let me know if they work!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:02 pmIf the president were actually “looking forward,” he’d see that letting stand the precedent that torture is a presidential prerogative is a truly dangerous threat to our nation of laws.
“Political and moral cowardice, that’s why,” is the truthful answer Gibbs was looking for.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:03 pmThe Attorney General can start an investigation whenever he wants – he doesn’t need anyone’s permission. We don’t need Congress, we have an Attorney General. The AG is supposed to be neutral and loyal to the rule of law. I think the job of the AG – after Nixon – has been to turn the nation’s AG into the presidents personal lawyer. The AG works for Obama, he doesn’t work for you and me. Congress would ultimately need the AG cooperation to fully investigate any WH wrong doing, so why start one if the AG just said he wouldn’t be bothered with things as petty as torturing innocent people.
This makes me sick – and it makes the Obama adminisration complicit in these war crimes. I wonder if they care about that?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:05 pmThe refusal to hold these war criminals accountable will be this president’s undoing. Mark my words.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:09 pmWell, I hope he “looks forward” to not receiving another dime from me for his reelection bid.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:10 pmWayne, thanks for Firedoglake’s petition. I also signed it immediately.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:11 pmObama doesn’t want to be re-elected in 2012…
April 20th, 2009 at 5:11 pm@cwarddc Says:
Well, I hope he “looks forward” to not receiving another dime from me for his reelection bid.
___
Copy that. He seriously almost lost me at FISA last year. He caves on this crap. I’m done.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:12 pmhillary1 Says:
The refusal to hold these war criminals accountable will be this president’s undoing. Mark my words.
I do believe you are right. I am starting to wonder about supporting Obama again in 2012. If he is like any other corrupt politician, then who needs him anyway?
Do we have any progressives who aren’t chickensh!t about the rule of law – or is that idea simply too impractible in today’s political landscape? I think the politicians believe their job security is more important than our country.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:12 pmPresident Obama called the US a “nation of laws”, he just forgot to tell us that he gets to choose which laws to enforce and which ones to ignore.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:15 pmcorrect typo: following orders were NOT charged
April 20th, 2009 at 5:19 pmThe prosecution of crime is always looking back isn’t it?
Obama can look forward – and rightly so – but his team should be looking back, investigating and prosecuting.
Just saw “A Few Good Men” again – the guys who were following orders were to charged with murder or conspiracy, but they WERE dishonorably discharged. The guy who ordered the acts was charged.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:19 pmthis is most discouraging…
the cancer is much worse than even my worst fears…
i’ll be happy if the man can just stay alive, at this point…
go for health care coverage, if nothing else…
but i can’t take another ‘kennedy’…
April 20th, 2009 at 5:22 pmNancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, by taking impeachment off the table, dropped this in President Obama’s lap. If they had done their job when they were supposed to we wouldn’t be blaming him now. And if he is covering for them then he is a fool.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:23 pmMy, the increasing arrogance of this administration is reverberating right out of the press secretary’s mouth.
I’m looking forward to the 2012 democratic presidential primary, for a candidate who understands that the executive branch is all about enforcing the law, who understands that enforcing the law is looking backwards to find the truth, who understands that a stated refusal to look backwards doesn’t always conjure the picturesque optimism of putting one foot in front of the other.
The crimes may not be recommitted as long as Obama is president, but he’s “looking forward” as a future ex-president to some other nut repeating the crimes that he as an ex- president refused to prosecute, and in the process weakening any future critics.
I know it seems hopeless at times, but if we are to save the power of our democracy, we have to keep searching.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pmthe United States is a nation of laws.”
We’re just not going to enforce all of them, just the ones we want*
April 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pmThis is not okay. I am (was?) a strong supporter of Obama, but this is wrong. Prosecution of a crime is not an arbitrary decision. As much as I hate to admit Darth Cheney might be right about ANYTHING, did he not say that Obama might be reluctant to relinquish the power his predecessor afforded him? It’s awful to contemplate, I know, but we are the keepers of justice, too. We do not have the luxury of just ‘letting it go.’ We cannot stand by while a wrong is being overlooked with impunity.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:26 pmAnd while President Obama is playing nice with the Bush administration the Republicans in congress are obstructing every move he makes and hosting tea parties. And I’m sure they’re taking notes and should they at any time take control of the congress they’ll be finding some bogus reason to impeach him. They probably have somebody collecting DNA from his sheets to use at some later date. You can’t play nice with those people.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:26 pmIt is clear now that Nixon walked on Watergate, Reagan and Bush walked on Iran Contra and now Bush and Cheney are going to walk on everything that anybody who becomes president can do whatever he wants, commit any crimes he chooses and nobody will ever hold him accountable for anything. Unless of course he gets a hummer from a consenting adult and then we’ll throw the book at him.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pmHe’s over at the CIA kissing butt, playing to their claims of morale busting. No wonder it’s tough for the CIA to recruit specialized skill sets, who the hell wants to be affiliated with a torture incubator?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:30 pmWell the ball is in the court of the people. The Administration won’t investigate & prosecute. By now, we know congress won’t do it…it’s up to the people to ride that horse to its death to demand it be done.
I don’t care to speculate why Obama’s Admin. isn’t going to do it…the result is the same either way.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:30 pmit IS hopeless…
2012 doesn’t matter…
this was the last best chance to save a democratic USA…
f’n stupid teabaggers… stupid stupid stupid people let this happen…
April 20th, 2009 at 5:32 pmObama for you…
In a stunning departure from his rhetoric on Guantánamo Bay prison, President Barack Obama signaled Friday he will continue Bush Administration policy with regard to detainees held at a US airbase in Afghanistan, saying they have no right to challenge their detentions in US courts — and denying them legal status altogether.
I also have posted this article from one of the best jornalist in the world, Mr. John Pilger. His work can be seen in YouTube: ‘War on Democracy’, ‘Breaking the Silence’, and in books like “Freedom: next time”.
This article came before the election, while the propaganda machine was selling the ‘Obama brand’ to uninformed American people…
11 Dec 2008
In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger reckons ‘Groundhog Day’, the black comedy about time repeating itself, might be a parable for the Age of Obama – as the president-elect’s major appointments turn out to be almost totally retro, without a single figure representing those who voted for him.
One of the cleverest films I have seen is Groundhog Day, in which Bill Murray plays a TV weatherman who finds himself stuck in time. At first he deludes himself that the same day and the same people and the same circumstances offer new opportunities. Finally, his naivety and false hope desert him and he realises the truth of his predicament and escapes. Is this a parable for the age of Obama?
Having campaigned with ?Change you can believe in?, President-elect Barack Obama has named his A-team. They include Hillary Clinton, who voted to attack Iraq without reading the intelligence assessment and has since threatened to ?totally obliterate? Iran on behalf of a foreign power, Israel. During his primary campaign, Obama referred repeatedly to Clinton?s lies about her political record. When he appointed her secretary of state, he called her ?my dear friend?.
Obama?s slogan is now ?continuity?. His secretary of defence will be Robert Gates, who serves the lawless, blood-soaked Bush regime as secretary of defence, which means secretary of war (America last had to defend itself when the British invaded in 1812). Gates wants no date set for an Iraq withdrawal and ?well north of 20,000? troops to be sent to Afghanistan. He also wants America to build a completely new nuclear arsenal, including ?tactical? nuclear weapons that blur the distinction with conventional weapons.
Another product of ?continuity? is Obama?s first choice for CIA chief, John Brennan, who shares responsibility for the systematic kidnapping and torturing of people, known as ?extraordinary rendition?. Obama has assigned Madeleine Albright to report on how to ?strengthen US leadership in responding to genocide?. Albright, as secretary of state, was largely responsible for the siege of Iraq in the 1990s, described by the UN?s Denis Halliday as genocide.
There is more continuity in Obama?s appointment of officials who will deal with the economic piracy that brought down Wall Street and impoverished millions. As in Bill Murray?s nightmare, they are the same officials who caused it. For example, Lawrence Summers will run the National Economic Council. As treasury secretary, according to the New York Times, he ?championed the law that deregulated derivatives, the… instruments ? aka toxic assets ? that have spread financial losses [and] refused to heed critics who warned of dangers to come?.
There is logic here. Contrary to myth, Obama?s campaign was funded largely by rapacious capital, such as Citigroup and others responsible for the sub-prime mortgage scandal, whose victims were mostly African Americans and other poor people.
Is this a grand betrayal? Obama has never hidden his record as a man of a system described by Martin Luther King as ?the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today?. Obama?s dalliance as a soft critic of the disaster in Iraq was in line with most Establishment opinion that it was ?dumb?. His fans include the war criminals Tony Blair, who has ?hailed? his appointments, and Henry Kissinger, who describes the appointment of Hillary Clinton as ?outstanding?. One of John McCain?s principal advisers, Max Boot, who is on the Republican Party?s far right, said: ?I am ?gobsmacked by these appointments. [They] could just as easily have come from a President McCain.?
Obama?s victory is historic, not only because he will be the first black president, but because he tapped in to a great popular movement among America?s minorities and the young outside the Democratic Party. In 2006 Latinos, the country?s largest minority, took America by surprise when they poured into the cities to protest against George W Bush?s draconian immigration laws. They chanted: ?Si, se puede!? (?Yes we can!?), a slogan Obama later claimed as his own. His secretary for homeland security is Janet Napolitano who, as governor of Arizona, made her name by stoking hostility against Latino immigrants. She has militarised her state?s border with Mexico and supported the building of a hideous wall, similar to the one dividing occupied Palestine.
On election eve, reported Gallup, most Obama supporters were ?engaged? but ?deeply pessimistic about the country?s future direction?. My guess is that many people knew what was coming, but hoped for the best. In exploiting this hope, Obama has all but neutered the anti-war movement that is historically allied to the Democrats. After all, who can argue with the symbol of the first black president in this country of slavery, regardless of whether he is a warmonger? As Noam Chomsky has pointed out, Obama is a ?brand? like none other, having won the highest advertising campaign accolade and attracted unprecedented sums of money. The brand will sell for a while. He will close Guantanamo Bay, whose inmates represent less than one per cent of America?s 27,000 ?ghost prisoners?. He will continue to make stirring, platitudinous speeches, but the tears will dry as people understand that President Obama is the latest manager of an ideological machine that transcends electoral power. Asked what his supporters would do when reality intruded, Stephen Walt, an Obama adviser, said: ?They have nowhere else to go.?
Not yet. If there is a happy ending to the Groundhog Day of repeated wars and plunder, it may well be found in the very mass movement whose enthusiasts registered voters and knocked on doors and brought Obama to power. Will they now be satisfied as spectators to the cynicism of ?continuity?? In less than three months, millions of angry Americans have been politicised by the spectacle of billions of dollars of handouts to Wall Street as they struggle to save their jobs and homes. It as if seeds have begun to sprout beneath the political snow. And history, like Groundhog Day, can repeat itself. Few predicted the epoch-making events of the 1960s and the speed with which they happened. As a beneficiary of that time, Obama should know that when the blinkers are removed, anything is possible.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:34 pmSoory, ‘after the election’!!!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:35 pmThanks Wayne.Done…Blessings
April 20th, 2009 at 5:39 pmLet the teabaggers back in power, at least they’re honest about their facism. Don’t forget this come 2012. Don’t forget this come 2010. Let Obama face a republican majority and see where his footsie playing gets him.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:39 pm… sorry… … i am having a bad day, and this is distressing.
if i can’t say anything positive i’d best not say anything at all…
it will be what it will be.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:41 pmand, yes, wayne – thanks for that link. done.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:43 pmMaybe if we quote Rick Santelli(barf), Obama will hear us.
“Mr. Obama, are you listening”?
April 20th, 2009 at 5:57 pmkatydid Says:
… sorry… … i am having a bad day, and this is distressing.
if i can’t say anything positive i’d best not say anything at all…
Sorry about the bad day katydid, but remember,
“silence is consent.”
“For evil to take root all it takes is for good people to remain silent.”
“He’s more machine now than man, twisted and evil.”
April 20th, 2009 at 6:04 pmIf we don’t hold our own to task for their failings we’re no better than the bush apologists.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:05 pmI’m sure Pfc. Lynndie England will be pleased.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:06 pmAlthough this is a setback for those of us interested in justice, I don’t advocate for everyone being down…did we really think the course of the country would be changed so quickly?
This is something that has been done for a good 40 years now and it will take a long haul effort to change the trajectory of this country, including the way Americans think about non-Americans in general.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket of a particular person whether it’s your party, your rep / senator or your president. Keep pushing on principle…
April 20th, 2009 at 6:06 pmRemember when Kerry was asked pre-election whether or not he would have voted for the Iraq War if he had known then what he knew now and he said yes? At that moment I knew it was over, he won zero votes with that statement and cost him several.
Obama has just committed the same political suicide. This conciliatory, weak move won’t win a damn thing from the Repugnants but will cost him the support of some very strong supporters.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:06 pmI’ll give Obama the slack that with all that is currently happening and evolving, I can understand if he delays investigating the abuses propogated by the Bush cabal.
But if he doesn’t eventually go there, then the nation will have an indellible blot.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:13 pmBadger @ 20 Says:
President Obama COULD have his justice Dept. Appoint a Special Prosecuter to look into Allegations of War Crimes.
Obama Clearly Does NOT Want to go there.
WHY???
I can think of Two Reasons, both of which may be True:
1. Powerfull DEMOCRATS could also be IMPLICATED. An investigation could show Democrat Fingerprints all over this.
2. Powerfull FOREIGN COUNTRIES could likewise be IMPLICATED. They may have been involved in Rendition or Worse.
Clearly, Transparency is out the Window with respect to this matter.
*****
As a Democrat who knocked on doors for President Obama I feel it is important for him to know that as a progressive we stand for equal justice under the rule of law.
If Democrats and Republican conspired equally to commit war crimes and torture…
Then they should be prosecuted EQUALLY.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:15 pmObama and his administration are under the delusional idea that the issue of WAR CRIMES will fade away…
Mr. Obama, while this issue is still being stonewalling by you, congress and the people you surround yourself with, there will be NO ‘MOVING FOWARD’.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:16 pmThis will continue to grow louder and louder until you won’t be able to hear your own empty rhetoric and embelished speeches!
“Looking forward” is not a reason, it’s a catchphrase for a rationalization.
Guess what, Mr. President: if you look forward, you’ll see that directly in front of you is a sh!tstorm brewing over whether or not this is a nation of laws. You might want to think twice about looking back instead.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:18 pmVaranus komodoensis
Bush is walking around laughing at us – he is free to travel where ever he wants when ever he wants and Obama has insured he can torture who ever he wants.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:26 pmI want someone to ask Gibbs if ALL crimes in the past are being ignored or just these specifically heinous, international, pointless and embarrassing crimes?
Ask if this means that torture is now legal in the US?
Ask if we will be apologizing to Japan and its citizens for trying and hanging their citizens for something the US now revels in and is hanging our flag proudly upon.
Ask if those previously convicted of torture will be released and pardoned?
Ask where this policy will end
Ask if this is selective or blanket
Ask how Obama would react if an international court filed charges of torture against these people we are letting go
Ask if Obama would fear he would be charged too for hididng these people and these crimes
We need specifics of how this policy is being played out.
America should be more embarrassed now by the ignoring of the crimes than we ever were by the fact that they occurred in the first place
April 20th, 2009 at 6:40 pmWe have heard of Bush 1 and Bush 2.
We now have Clinton 2.
Bill Clinton had some pretty statistics at the end of his administration, but how exactly are we doing long-term based Bill Clinton’s actions in the 90’s?
Bill Clinton signed NAFTA, which led to a whole series of other investment-class trade schemes such as CAFTA. Bill Clinton deregulated corporations. I will just name these two things, because they are bad enough by themselves.
Hillary told us Bill created 22 million jobs during his tenure. We had a budget surplus, unemployment was down etc.
That’s awesome if only we had a time machine to perpetually live in the Clinton 90’s.
What has Clinton/Republican trade policy and deregulation netted us in 2009?
Obama wants to look forward and not hold war criminals and traitors accountable. He wants to have good stats at the end of the next 4 or possibly 8 years by not rocking the boat and sucking up to Republican votes to pass legislation. We are not talking about constitutional amendments that would be difficult to overturn. We are talking about simple legislation that can be erased by the next Republican majority.
What is America gonna look like when the Obama legislation is history but his precedent of not holding a criminal administration accountable, not to mention some of the authoritarian, anti-constitutional executive branch powers that Bush deemed upon himself and Obama apparently plans to hang on to, still exists?
Hit and run drivers just like to look forward as well.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:56 pmNow it’s time to cheat, lie and steal in every way possible without getting caught.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:10 pmThat is what this administration has taught me and I plan to make use of my education whenever possible, for as long as possible.
As long as I continue to ‘look forward’ I should have nooo problem.
Maybe he could say something like, “I’ll consider prosecuting the last president and his administration for crimes when Congress can convince Karl Rove to show up for questioning in response to a subpoena.”
I mean he really has so much to work with here.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:42 pmAs infuriating and discouraging as the statement by Gibbs was…
AT LEAST NOW WE KNOW UNEQUIVOCABLY WHERE PRESIDENT OBAMA STANDS ON THIS ISSUE !!
Now, it’s time to regroup and rethink our strategy. C’mon Progressives, let’s get creative and find a way to force this issue and keep the pressure!
P.S. I already signed the petition.
I wish I had some creative ideas…..but I’m drawing a blank right now.
Anyone?
April 20th, 2009 at 8:50 pmThe rule of law does not exist in the United States. The Constitution no longer applies because that contract has been breached. Americans are no longer constitutionally obligated to obey any law. We are in anarchy.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:55 pmExactly how do you think Obama should go about prosecuting? Not, I hope, with some unitary executive privilege.
Bush/Cheney should have been impeached. They weren’t. Obama shares the blame for not impeaching Bush/Cheney while he was a senator.
I don’t blame Obama for not committing political suicide, and I don’t want the president to lead these charges. The charges are very serious and not simply the stuff of political vendettas, in this case, but it’s not hard to imagine a case in which the charges aren’t as serious and are most certainly political vendettas. Imagine W. Bush pressing charges against Clinton for lying under oath about a blow job, had no one else done it.
Since there is no statute of limitations on their crimes, they can be charged in the future. Pol Pot’s general is on trial now. I don’t want to wait that long, especially since Pol Pot is dead; but it does show that the world does not forget these things. I want to see those innocent captives we tortured have their day in court. I want justice for them.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pmPEOPLE CALM DOWN! LOL!
Remember Obama is a constitutional scholar. With people calling him fascist/other bs, he won’t come right out and start dictating. At a time when his party has a tenuous hold over the legislature and people gunning for him everywhere, why would he risk creating enemies or dividing the country further. Not to mention all the other things he has going atm, there are people in better positions to file formal charges. He only released the memos last week, this is just the beginning of the storm.
Oh and rhodes, where do you get your crap. Much of what you said is crap.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:11 pmBobwurst Says: Obama is a liar!
On everything except stem cells. Two much forked tongue for me. Any operation that the CIA has ever is considered patriotic or necessary, except when JFK threatened to blast them into a thousand pieces, along with not accelerating Vietnam, dissolving the Federal Reserve, and not giving Ben-Gurian Nuclear Weapons. So in essence, Obama may be frightened of going against the CIA for obvious reasons.
Obama on illegal wiretapping:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20090419&articleId=13249
One thing I am glad of is that hoodwinked Democrats have taken off their rose-colored glasses with Obama much quicker than the Republicans did with Bush.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:15 pme_to_the_pOTATO BUG Says:Oh and rhodes, where do you get your crap. Much of what you said is crap.
He gets it from historical facts.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:19 pmHeeebaaduuuhhhheeebbbaaaaduhhhheeeebbbuuuuddddaaaaaahhh, that’s all folks! Gibbs is a dope. He and Napolitano need to go. They make Obama look bad.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:26 pmIf “not holding these people accountable” was the best choice, then what in the hell was the flip side of this, what was worse.
You assume that there are no easy choices, but what!!!
April 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm.
Dear America,
Damned be the Rule of Law…
… So says your president.
Hahahaha…
… Some Nation of Laws you’ve grown up to be.
What?
I see, you have a man to follow, instead.
Now, tell me, what good is a Democracy for when you prefer the whims of men and not of Laws?
.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:36 amWhat I’m pondering is this – if the DoJ under Obama is actually independent like it’s supposed to be, then the opinion of the White House about who gets prosecuted or not doesn’t mean squat. I think we’re so used to having a lapdog for Attorney General that we’ve forgotten that Obama’s not supposed to be able to make policy regarding investigations and prosecutions. Which means he’s free to say “we’re against that” while the DoJ continues to dig into it.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:01 amPathetic, disgusting, moral cowardice.
April 21st, 2009 at 2:41 amPresident Obama:
If you keep making decisions like this in an attempt to “look ahead”, at re-election time when you look for your supporters, they won’t be behind you anymore.
Shame on you for trying to protect war criminals and torturers.
There is NO excuse.
You are choosing to become an accessory after the fact.
My first clue as to what a weasel Obama is was when I found out that Rupert Murdoch was supporting him. The second was when I read The Audacity of Hope. The third was when he started appointing staff and cabinet officers. So much for our faux progressive president and his corrupt, craven, incessantly lying party. It looked like Bush had about done in the Republican party, but Dr Obama and his team are well on their way to resurrecting it–if not just becoming it.
April 21st, 2009 at 2:47 am______
katydid Says:
it IS hopeless…
2012 doesn’t matter…
this was the last best chance to save a democratic USA…
f’n stupid teabaggers… stupid stupid stupid people let this happen…
April 20th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
______
“Teabaggers” didn’t make this decision.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:22 amI was particularly disappointed with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’s response to the question from Ed Henry at the April 19 press conference, which was simply to reiterate that “the president is focused on looking forward.” Unfortunately, these White House correspondents don’t ask the right questions. The problem is not just that those that violated laws in the past aren’t being held accountable. The real problem is that however much Obama is holding members of his administration to a higher standard, he isn’t thinking past his own administration. Unless he sets not only a moral example but also a legal precedent by prosecuting misconduct during the Bush administration, a future Republican (or even Democratic) administration will feel completely free to go back to the same practices after Obama is out of office. That’s the irony in saying that “the president is focused on looking forward.” He’s not looking forward enough.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:55 am