Francis Biddle Kicked Adolf Hitler's Ass....and then Ate Hirohito for lunch...

[catnhatnh]

Oh-that's right-he didn't....but he was US Attorney General from 1941 thru 1945. I'm sure he was asked to walk a narrow line between civil rights and expediency, but managed his tenure without secret tribunals against specious "terrorists"...instead, other than the disgrace of Americans being interned, we carried on close to normally. In middle America German populations were were subdued but unabused.
And in retrospect we abhor the treatment of our Japanese Americans.They were interred and dispossessed but never kidnapped and tortured-I guess even Francis wouldn't go that far-nor was he asked to.
Now our President insists that asking a candidate for the office if waterboarding a suspect is torture is somehow "unfair" and states the question is a "hypothetical"-it is neither...waterboarding is a defined technique and has been well described...Rather it is an unacknowledged but given fact. The failure to address this by Mr. Mulkasey is a nexus in our political lives-if he is confirmed by Democrats, we have as a country failed. To confirm a torturer, or EVEN one who will not reject becoming a torturer, is to condone the action.

[aquart]

1. We earned the respect of the world for our treatment of the conquered.

And made long-term partners of the Germans and Japanese.

I don't think the Iraqis will be that friendly.

I will never forget finding a guidebook for soldiers and other Americans in Occupied Japan put out by our army. It was so firm about the war being over, about the people of Japan having no choice in their leaders, in giving information so that our people would know how to behave and not offend...reading it made me incredibly proud.