The United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a report slamming the United States on torture and surveillance — the last international condemnation of the United States that is now viewed by many as a threat to civil liberties and international law. This follows international reports condemning the Obama Administration for its attacks on the free press and Internet freedoms. The demand for action on torture revives one of the greatest failures of the Obama Administration when the President, shown after taking office, assured CIA employees that no one would be investigated or prosecuted for torture despite the existence of international treaties obligating us to carry out such prosecutions. The President has admitted (as is clear from domestic and international rulings) that water boarding is torture. What is fascinating is that those who continue to defend this Administration dismiss the criticisms of respected international public interest groups, award-winning journalists, and even United Nations organizations in such condemnations. It is part of what has become a blind loyalty for an iconic president over long-standing principles. As noted by a widening array of organizations and experts, Obama has proven a perfect nightmare for civil liberties — once a core and defining area for Democrats and liberals alike.
The report chastises the United States for an array of concerns from harsh sentencing for juveniles to drone attacks to global surveillance. Amnesty International’s U.N. representative noted that “The U.S. is adept at demanding human rights change from other governments, while failing to meet international standards itself.”
On torture, the report found that the evidence of a torture program by the United States is clear and called for an investigation and prosecution of members of the “armed forces and other agents of the U.S. government.” While there should be no need to remind this country: “The State party [the United States] should ensure that all cases of unlawful killing, torture or other ill-treatment, unlawful detention, or enforced disappearance are effectively, independently and impartially investigated, that perpetrators, including, in particular, persons in command positions, are prosecuted and sanctioned, and that victims are provided with effective remedies.” Only a few principled Democratic members have denounced Obama for his blocking of the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for torture.
I have previously written about the cynical calculation that led to Obama blocking the prosecution for those responsible for the torture program. He knew such prosecutions would be unpopular, and with so many constitutional principles since that time, he just did not see the value in adhering to principle (even those embodied within binding treaty obligations). Since Obama ran on a civil liberties platform, many expected an independent torture investigation as soon as he took office. After all, waterboarding is one of the oldest forms of torture, pre-dating the Spanish Inquisition (when it was called tortura del agua). It has long been defined as torture by both U.S. and international law, and by Obama himself. Torture, in turn, has long been defined as a war crime, and the United States is under treaty obligation to investigate and prosecute such crimes.
However, such a principle did not make for good politics. Accordingly, as soon as he was elected, Obama set out to dampen talk of prosecution. Various intelligence officials and politicians went public with accounts of the Obama administration making promises to protect Bush officials and CIA employees from prosecution. Though the White House denied the stories, Obama later gave his controversial speech at the CIA headquarters and did precisely that. In the speech, he effectively embraced the defense of befehl ist befehl (“an order is an order”). As I have written before (here and here), the Obama Administration has destroyed some of the core Nuremburg principles, particularly in its revisal of the “superior orders defense” to excuse U.S. officials.
The appearance of torture in the list of criticisms in the report shows that the world has not forgotten our towering hypocrisy in this area and the President’s decision to shield our own officials from prosecution — even after CIA officials admitted to destroying evidence of torture to protect themselves from any later investigation. China now regularly cites our own torture program — and the protection of U.S. officials responsible for the program — to defect criticism of its own programs.
What we have lost in the last decade is not simply clarity in dealing with human rights and civil liberties but credibility in voicing what were once undeniably American values.
Danny/BVM, What is your position of the legal investigation of those who evidence shows likely committed the war crime of torture?
OBAMA IS A FOREIGN AGENT SELLING OUT AMERICA
Barack Obama’s real name is Barry Soetoro aka “Bathhouse Barry” a homosexual hustler drug user from Chicago.
Putin and many other world leaders are blackmailing Obama with his forged ID’s and usurping the presidency.
Putin, et al could bring down Obama with the records of Harry Bounel, whose SSN 042-68-4425 Obama is using, Obama’s forged birth certificate, forged selective service registration, War Crimes, high treason and many, many other crimes.
I supported Obama in 2008 and 2012 and must admit that I am very disappointed in his Presidency. He is an ineffectual leader and I thought he would be more progressive and dynamic in the mold of LBJ—instead he turned out to be a moderate Republican.
It’s not only former Bush Administration officials but Wall Street Bankers that should have been prosecuted. Instead war criminals and one of the biggest heists on record go unpunished and in some cases rewarded.
.
He can give a good speech which fooled a lot of people, including me.
Fmr. Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack:
The birth certificate released by Mr. Obama in the White House is a fake, a fraud and a lie.
Giovanni, We got a glimpse into Obama’s mindset w/ his “clinging to their guns and God” derisive comment in a speech he gave to SF Dems. He is a Nixon/Carter hybrid.
I remember watching a documentary on US torture. One man said he used to believe the US would rescue people who were being tortured. He said that was the nation he thought victims could turn to for help. Instead, they were the nation torturing him.
Of course the US has been involved in torture for a very long time. Yet passing a law against torture during the Regan administration was a real step forward. After 9/11 our citizens seemed to go mad. For a long while citizens agreed that anything and everything was acceptable in the face of “terrists”. The government cynically manipulated people’s fears and pounded home lie after lie about the effectiveness, lawfulness and wholesome goodness of torture. That Cheney can say he did not break the law is ludicrous.
However, I do not agree that prosecutions for torture would have been politically unpopular. Obama was elected on a platform to restore the rule of law and to stop torture. That is what people wanted, including Republicans. Many Republicans voted for Obama because of this.
Starting in about 2005, the American public really began repudiating the lawlessness of this govt. It took the election of a cult figure such as Obama to bring the American public back into the fold in its support of lawlessness.
We should pay attention to what happened and why. The American public has supported the unsupportable twice in recent history, the first after 9/11, the second, after the election of Obama. The govt. could not get away with this unless a large majority of people supported these actions or simply didn’t care.
Indeed, we are the ones tearing down our own society. We are easy to manipulate because people will not stand on principle. We need to repudiate this lawlessness, this enormous cruelty. We must decide to be better people in our nation. We cannot let either fear and worship of a leader keep us bound to actions of great destruction.
This is the time to stop making excuses and face up to what has happened and what is happening. We owe this to each other and we owe it to other nations around the world.
Giovanna:
I agree with your overall assessment, but perhaps academically I would say Obama is more Fascist than Marxist. He is an opportunist in promoting statism more than just socialism.
As to Prof JT, what a laudatorily relentless hounding he pounding Obama through.
A lawyer friend of mine said, “I remember when Turley was just a go to talking head for the cable tv news channels. He was just a miquetoast personality that didn’t particular stir up any controversy or deeply criticize anyone. Now he has transformed into something completely different.”
And that is so true, Turley is a firebrand for political honesty and civil liberties.
He pulls no punches on Obama’s constitutional heresies and hypocrisy.
BUENA VISTA MALL DECLARES:
OBAMA IS NOT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
HE NEVER WAS
All the leaders of the U.S. and world not voicing this Truth are stupid and corrupt. The U.S. Government is an Empire of Lies.
Any politician or news commentator who has not exposed Obama’s forged ID’s and his usurpation of the presidency cannot be trusted
Obama was Ineligible Constitutionally in many ways for the Office of President
Everything Obama and his criminal administration have done / signed is ILLEGAL, NULL and VOID.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio: New Criminal Evidence About To Be Released
OBAMA IS ONE of the BIGGEST CRIMINALS in WORLD HISTORY!
He should have been arrested years ago!
The U.S. Governments, Courts and Media are Corrupt
All the U.S. Invasions are Illegal as were the Nazi Invasions
Washington, DC = Nazi Berlin
Obama, Bush, Zionist Jews, Congress, U.S. Gov’t / Military / Media, et al have made Americans hated torturous War Criminals to the world
OBAMA is a black Hitler, Mass Murderer / Maimer, Torturer, Baby Killer, Warmonger, Supreme War Criminal, Forger, Fraud, Thief, Pathological Liar, Psychopath, Wall Street Stooge, Zionist Lickspittle, Fascist, Nazi.
As far as rating this Administrative Branch of our country goes, on the simplistic scale of 1 to 10(which is best) I would have to, in my sheep-skin-less opinion opt for perhaps a “6”
Only our Military, and the others who put their lives on the line for all of the rest of us would get my “10” – Yes I do consider them an equally important “Branch”
The legislators deserve nothing above a “2”
The Judiciary I consider to be an enemy, Minus 6 for the “courthouse Gang” and dropping. They serve only themselves.
Butt…….What do I know?
I’m just a Lower Middle-Class-Mate and it’s always my turn in the barrel *!*
https://twitter.com/gabriellahope_/status/449346994331729920
http://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2014/03/dick-cheney-denies-war-criminal-allegations-at-kpu-event
Dick Cheney, yesterday:
“Some people called it torture. It wasn’t torture. If I would have to do it all over again, I would. The results speak for themselves.”
The Wartocracy has brought us some ill repute. Natch.
Perhaps Bush and Obama can have adjoining suites at the political prison. Cheney gets solitary.
While I agree with the criticism of Obama for not going after the criminals of Bush and Cheney, I have to note that Prof. Turley and other lawyers have a good target of opportunity to shoot at in the legal profession, Prof Yoo, since he was the official who stated that waterboarding is not torture. Perhaps the lawyers could get the ABA to pass at least a resolution denouncing and calling for sanctions against him for his crimes. I will be more impressed when I see the lawyers making an effort to clean up scum like Yoo, THEN the denunciations of Obama in this regard will be seen as part and parcel of lawyers trying to follow the law and principle. Absent this, I will have to conclude that they are as guilty of Obama’s sin of overlooking these crimes.
“Obama has proven a perfect nightmare for civil liberties — once a core and defining area for Democrats and liberals alike.” Let’s face facts, most Dems have always made civil liberty promises, but few delivered–unless it meant money in their pockets. To the public the Dems wear the mask of civil liberties, while in the back room they corrupt and steal from the taxpayers.
“Only a few principled Democratic members have denounced Obama for his blocking of the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for torture.”
Only a few Democrats have denounced Obama on anything.
In my opinion, Obama’s election was a planned scam, he had no experience in politics, he did little to help the poor in Chicago, his credentials have been shady and questionable, his policies are destroying this once great nation, his friends and acquaintances are shady with Marxist ideas, his ideas lean too far left, ushering in socialism, he only calls on God when he needs to calm the God believers, he’s chipping away at the people’s rights, everyone who works for him lies or pleads the 5th, his parents and grandparents had suspicious philosophies that leaned toward communism, his smooth talking oratory completely bamboozled his devoted followers–it even brought some of his loyal fans to tears…and their so much more that he’s done to destroy our nation.
You don’t say…. And we’d be in the business of telling Russia how to get along with the Ukraine….. Why not….
That Nobel prize is a bit tarnished.
I agree Darren, our biggest problem is the ‘leaders’ of our country do not do what is best for All the People…not all, but most do what is best for them or the people the corporations that give them money…I know, Captain Obvious here and his sidekick Duh!
I’m sorry to say it is going to likely be a long time before the US politicians decide to do what is best for citizens and constitutional values.
Reblogged this on Karma's little spanker.