Our Obligation to Investigate by Sen. Robert Byrd

[L. Coyote]

Our Obligation to Investigate
Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia
Posted April 30, 2009 - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-robert-byrd/our-obligation-to-investi_b_193593.html

In President Obama's inaugural address, he declared that "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

The President's statement referenced false and disingenuous choices of the Bush Administration. As the facts continue to come to light about exactly what happened at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, Bagram, and other U.S.-run secret prisons around the world, it is increasingly impossible to ignore that the U.S. government violated the basic human rights of prisoners. Not only did these insidious tactics sacrifice our national integrity, but they may also have compromised our security as well.

The recently leaked report from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as the four released memorandums from the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), confirm our worst fears. These documents point to brutal, inhumane acts which were repeatedly carried out by U.S. military personnel, and which were authorized and condoned at the highest levels of the Bush Administration. These acts appear to directly violate both the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions. Spain and the United Kingdom have already initiated investigations of Bush Administration officials who approved these acts. The United States needs to investigate as well. To continue to ignore the mounting evidence of clear wrongdoing is a national humiliation.

Additionally .............

[bullimiami]

1. bush prosecution and punishment of lynndie england, graner etc is proof they knew

that torture was a crime.

their willingness to prosecute others for obeying the orders they originated is proof they are despicable cowards.

[L. Coyote]

3. BINGO! Bush already prosecuted underlings for torture.

[roguevalley]

9. Byrd can go fuck himself. He voted against the mortgage relief bill

and for the banks. He's a fraud pure and simple.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Other than being evil, immoral, and illegal, the legacy of Cheney/Bush torture policies threaten

our national security.

"Additionally, U.S. military officials have come forward with accounts of the damage these policies have done to our military's ability to prosecute detainees. According to those officials, because torture was used as an interrogatory method, prosecution may not be brought against individuals who may, in fact, be terrorists."

Thanks for the thread, L. Coyote.

[L. Coyote]

4. Not to mention that Bush created more enemies of the United States by making the US lawless.

[Vidar]

5. Bravo, Mr. Byrd!

[Gregorian]

6. Bush attacked Iraq. That violated the human rights of an entire nation.

I know we're talking about torture here, but there is a bigger picture. And we don't have to wait on evidence, as it's already there. He attacked a country that was not a threat to Americans.

Am I missing something? Is this not obvious, and far greater the crime?

[RufusTFirefly]

7. The cool thing about being 91 is that you can speak the truth without hesitation

I know we all should speak the truth, but Byrd no longer feels any need to pull his political punches. That makes him pretty unusual in the Senate.

His impassioned speech in October 2002, just before a cowed Congress signed over the the Constitution to Idiot Boy, is still one of my favorites.

Right-wingers never fail to mention the Klan, but I actually think Byrd is stronger and wiser because of his past transgressions. He's received a 100 percent voting record from the NAACP, and he has undoubtedly learned from his mistakes, such as being suckered into voting for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

[hootinholler]

8. May Mother Earth hold you to her breast

May Father Sky watch over you always.

Thank you Senator.

-Hoot

[GeorgeGist]

10. From the safety of his feathered nest, Mr. Byrd mistakes the blood of generations ...

for the light of the world.