President Obama seized the occasion of the Nov. 12 debate to repeat his oft-stated view that "Waterboarding is torture. It's contrary to America's traditions, it's contrary to our ideals, it's not who we are, it's not how we operate." He sounds like his feet are firmly planted on the moral high ground. Yet his actions (or inaction) belie his words.
The U.S. War Crimes Act of 1996 defines torture as a war crime. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and others have admitted authorizing waterboarding, a form of torture. They are self-professed war criminals.
Yet Obama has said he will not prosecute them. He has thereby failed in his constitutional duty as President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
Obama's inaction, just as much as the war crimes committed by the Bush administration, has allowed torture to become a policy option for the GOP instead of a crime deserving punishment.
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