Change Took a Detour!

Panetta: 'We've got to move forward'

The AP reports that Obama's pick to head the CIA, Leon Panetta, says it's time for the agency to move ahead. Panetta has stated categorically that there will be no prosecutions for torturers.

Here's how the progressive blogs are responding to this news:

Crooks and Liars:

Not prosecuting those who tortured is a "get out of jail free card" not only for the torturers but for those who ordered torture and those who falsely said torture could ever be legal.

Daily Kos:

One of the most widely understood dictates from the Nuremburg Trials is that I was only obeying orders is not a defense from war crimes.

Yet Panetta said today the Obama Administration has made a policy decision NOT to prosecute. CIA Director nominee Leon Panetta overturns the Rule of Law by letting CIA agents or contractors who tortured walk away scot-free!

News For Real:

Let me put that in terms those of us of a certain age will find familiar: “Give them a break. They were only following orders.”

Yes, 65 years after we hung Germans for carrying out crimes under orders, we have now decided that “just following orders,” should in fact have been a legitimate defense after all.

So, let me get this straight; we are not going to prosecute the guys who issued the orders, and we are not going to prosecute the guys who carried out those orders. I see.

What Does Change Mean?

Last January, Panetta wrote this for the Washington Monthly and expressed a somewhat different view:

If torture can stop the next terrorist attack, the next suicide bomber, then what's wrong with a little waterboarding or electric shock?

The simple answer is the rule of law. Our Constitution defines the rules that guide our nation.

We cannot simply suspend these beliefs in the name of national security. Those who support torture may believe that we can abuse captives in certain select circumstances and still be true to our values. But that is a false compromise. We either believe in the dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, or we don't. There is no middle ground.

We cannot and we must not use torture under any circumstances. We are better than that.