We all are accessories after the fact!
Jonathan Turley, professor of Constitutional Law at George Washington University Law School has been calling for Obama to prosecute W for war crimes it seems like forever as people in big bro 43's group are stonewalling with Thomas R. Pickering being a prime example.
Thomas R. Pickering goes back to the Teflon Ronnie days and he played a minor role in the Iran-Contra affair while Ambassador to El Salvador so he knows about GOP crimes.
The article "Moving Forward by Looking Back Why a Presidential Commission on Torture Is Critical to America's Security" at click here reminds us how the GOP is going to play this. They want this dragged out with a do nothing commission in the hope that the next president will be a GOP ghoul who will bury big bro 43's crimes. The article states "President Obama declared in his inaugural address that the United States is "ready to lead once more." Not content to merely say the right thing, he took several significant steps to act on his words within the first days of his presidency -- signing, for instance, executive orders to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and secret CIA facilities around the world.
The president understands that no democracy can lead if it engages in activities that damage its defenses and undermine its system of government. And that is what torture does."
Pickering calls for a commission to look into this and the article states "It is in the interest of our nation's security that President Obama should immediately appoint such a commission. To move ahead, make our country safer and strengthen the leadership position of the United States, we must have a full understanding of detainee policies and their consequences. Only then can we prevent any mistakes of the past from being repeated."
What is a commission other than a waste of time and energy?
Jonathan Turley is not concerned about appearances. He is convinced it is well past time for us to act. Half measures such as commissions are not enough.
The 03/24/2009 article "Turley: Cheney war crimes probe would be 'shortest in history'" at click here states "President Barack Obama said all the right things on 60 Minutes, according to Jonathan Turley. But no mere verbal rebuff to the former vice president will see the law upheld.
If Obama would step out of the way and allow prosecutors to look at evidence of alleged Bush administration war crimes, "it would be the shortest investigation in history," Turley said on a Monday episode of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show."
Obama was all over McCain when the latter wanted to suspend his campaign to deal solely with the economic crisis. Obama said that a president had to do more than one thing. The same reasoning applies to Obama.
The article continues with Turley saying "[Obama] should be saying, 'What you are describing is a crime.' And if he would allow an investigation to well-defined war crimes, Dick Cheney would not be making public statements. He would be surrounded by criminal defense counsel.
Rachel, let's be honest here. It is just as bad to prevent the investigation and prosecution of a war crime as its commission because you become part of it.
You know, some people say, what do you need, a film? We actually had films of us torturing people. So this would be the shortest investigation in history. You have Bush officials who have said that we tortured people. We have interrogators who have said we tortured people. The Red Cross has said it. A host of international organizations have said it."
Obama better watch out because it is going to catch up on him.
The article concludes with Turley saying "What is President Obama waiting for? And I'm afraid the answer is, a convenient moment."
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