Friday, May 8, 2009

A Voice for Reason

There was a short editorial in the New York Daily News yesterday called, "Case closed: Justice Department should bar prosecutions over Bush torture memos." With all the crazed, hysterical cries for political prosecutions from the left, and from other terrorist rights supporters, it's nice to actually see an occasional voice of reason. Here's the key passage:
President Obama has ruled out prosecuting the CIA agents who conducted the interrogations, and no one is talking about hauling top decision makers, such as President Bush and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, into the dock. To consider indicting the men in the middle like Yoo and Bybee would be absurd.
You might think it would be obvious that we don't prosecute lawyers for giving legal advice , even if we disagree with their legal theories. But the BDS crowd and terrorist rights supporters are so unhinged by the fact that they can't get Bush and other top officials, that they'll go after anyone who appears more vulnerable. That's why they've focused on the lawyers. They want their witchhunt. Never mind that indicting lawyers for giving legal advice would be a terrible precedent that would cause far more damage to the U.S. than any harm the Bush administration supposedly inflicted. It would undermine our legal system and force lawyers to worry more about protecting themselves, than in coming up with legal theories and interpretations in the service of their clients. And the people backing this radical assault on our system actually spout platitudes about the "rule of law," another term that is well on its way toward being rendered meaningless by political redefinition.

4 comments:

  1. The radical left is coming unhinged and there is no attempt by the media to report on the irrational positions they are taking. Obama is taking the correct course by standing up to them -- now someone needs to stand up to Obama's extreme positions on healthcare and energy.

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  2. "there is no attempt by the media to report on the irrational positions they are taking."

    Probably because much of the media agrees with those positions. And possible prosecution of former administration officials, along with sensational material like torture, is irresistable to news organizations.

    "now someone needs to stand up to Obama's extreme positions on healthcare and energy."

    That would be nice. But the GOP is thrashing around like a wounded animal right now. I'm not sure they are capable of effective opposition. Republicans should be doing everything possible to forge alliances with Blue Dog Democrats to block at least the worst parts of Obama's domestic agenda.

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  3. As an aside, one has to wonder if by Obama releasing the memos he wasn't setting up Pelosi. Either Obama was oblivious to who knew what, or he was throwing a bomb at Pelosi and her cohorts -- perhaps in an attempt to get someone more favorable to his agenda in the Democrat leadership?

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  4. I will agree with you on this legal point!

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