Accountability for the past, present and future

[radfringe]

Before boarding the train in Philadelphia, Obama delivered a brief but inspirational address that evoked not only the fathers of American independence, but also Lincoln, the emancipator of slaves and protector of the American union whose model he would invoke all day.

"Starting now, let's take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union," Obama said. "Let's build a government that is responsible to the people, and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable."

On Obama's change.gov transition Internet site, respondents were asked what concerned them most. A top response demanded investigation of the outgoing Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq. But www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090118/NEWS01/901180316|Obama has been cool to that suggestion] and says he wants to look forward.

While the sentiments of "looking forward" may sound good - we must also understand where we've been and where we are now. Holding government accountable means investigating the Bush-Cheney years - to dismiss it as diverting resources away from the problems we have today increases the probability of repeating the same mistakes.

At noon on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - Barack Obama will raise his hand, take the oath of office and officially become our President. With that comes great responsibility and serious problems both at home and abroad. He will inherit a broken government, an economy in free-fall, two wars, and a host of other serious problems - all demanding his immediate attention. To solve a problem, Obama not only needs to look forward, but also backwards and sideways - and that means holding our past government accountable.

While some of the problems facing us today may not have have their origins in criminal offenses, and may be a case of incompetence - it still warrants investigating. There are too many questions, too many "Unknown Knowns and Unknown unknowns".

From Enron to 9-11, "yellow cake" to WMDs, Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, torture, warrantless wiretapping, Valarie Plame, Attorney firings, Halliburton, KBR, no-bid contracts, Hurricane Katrina, Veterans Administration, election fraud, cherry-picking intelligence, ignoring or "rewritting" science, and the systematic shredding of our constitution for political gain are part of of our past and will effect our future.

The concept of Accountability in government doesn't begin on Jan 20, 2009, it doesn't mean we ignore the past - it means we have to hold government accountable for the past, the present and the future. Bush may issues blanket pardons which could preclude any criminal charges - but this doesn't mean we are prevented from investigating.

We can't "fix"' problems if we don't understand the problems.