Politico - The Obama administration pledged not to prosecute CIA employees who carried out aggressive interrogation practices approved by top officials in the Bush administration. The pledge came as President Barack Obama authorized the release of four Bush administration legal memos detailing war on terror interrogation techniques that some have decried as torture. . .
"This is a time for reflection not retribution," Obama said. "We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past."
65 comments:
I feel that Obama is doing the right thing. You cannot punish someone for following orders, as it is not their fault. Military personnel are trained to follow orders, so it is good that they actually did what they were told, as it would be indicative of a weak military if they disobeyed a order because they think the order was immoral.
I did not realize we were going to punish government employees for carrying out the orders passed down to them from our Executive branch. The fact that Obama was considering prosecuting these employees goes to show how he will do anything to give himself a political advantage. This just proves that he's not above ruining people's lives for doing what they are ordered to do by their Commander-In-Chief, all in an attempt to slap the wrist of his predecessor so that the American Media will make a big deal and he will get four more years to ruin more lives.
This was not surprising to hear something else that was wrong with the Bush adminstration. I really like that Obama says not to spend any time or energy laying blame for the past because nothing will be gained from it. There goes that media story. As far as the decision of not prosecuting is right only because it was legal to interrogate or "torture" people at the time.
Today many people feel that it is right to punish those who have inflicted pain on us as a country. However, I believe President Obama is right. You can't just go around interrogating people by means of torture. In my opinion, traumatizing someone who has caused harm only makes you shrink to their level-ugly,hateful, and manipulative. I know that U.s. citizens can be more civilized.
so im pretty sure what Obama just said was yeah president bush messed up and now i have to fix all his mistakes but im gonna wait it out, give it some time. yeah?! this reasures me that Obama was a good pick and is gonna do his best to make change.
Although these employees might have done horrible things they were following orders. Knowing what they did and how the public feels about it is punishment enough.
I think this is a good move by obama. Bush was president and he set the rules so those particular cia agents did what was at the time legal. Yeah it was wrong but it is a similar situation as in steroids in baseball. It wasnt illegal so why not take full advantage of it. Obama will be a good leader for this country and will continue to clean up GW's mess.
I think what Obama did was right, well at least for his image. Our country has more important things to worry about than prosecuting four people. We should be prosecuting chairmen and CEO are misusing the bailout money.
I agree that it is not a time to punish people for things done in the past but rather as a time to move forward.
I respect Obama for his pledge not to prosecute the CIA employees who carried out aggressive interrogation practices. I see nothing good that can come from that other than pointing fingers at people for things that cannot be changed.
It's time to make progress, we have bigger problems to fix.
I think Obama is right on this one. What good will it do to waste out time, energy, focus, and money on the past? In times of war, things are often done that are regretted later on. The best thing we can do is just move on towards the future that will hopefully be a brighter place....with less waterboarding.
This is no time to dwell on who said what...The American public has the right to know what the Bush Administration did these past 8 years.
This is a smart and noble move on Obama's part--we need to change for the future, not dwell on the past.
I think that the interrogation techniques which can be furthur described as torture, are an action that the entire country should be at shame for. But to prosecute these individuals for doing their jobs as directed by government is useless. The best action is just to stop performing these interrogation techniques and move on.
Politics as usual. Some people want to prosecute and some don't. I honestly don't know enough to make an educated, sensible decision.
On a different topic, I just wanted to point something out: Why does the Obama administration have to keep TELLING us that the stimulus plans are working? The economy is in the same slump as it was when the current administration took office. If the economy was really making progress, even if not by leaps and bounds, then we would know via news stories and real profit margins. There would not be a need to reiterate the fact that the economy was doing well.
"We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past."
haha. so now that he is president
these peoples punishments don't
matter? i honestly don't think the same thing would have happend if these where rapests. everyone would just over look this.
I agree with what Obama is doing.
We should not prosecute because they were just doing what they were supposed to. Now that we have new laws, they should not be punished for what they did before.
Torture is horrible, there is no denying that. But I think punishing those that our government ordered to torture people is not the way to prove we are against torture. Personally I think it would be better to just not torture than punish those forced to torture, if you wanna prove you don't.
Well the truth has finally been published. I think that an opinion should be made after it's been read.
Seriously. Like Obama said..leave the past in the past. One you can't change it no matter what you do; and two, the blame game never proved beneficial for anyone.
"...nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past."
Wow. This was deep. ha But, like, yeah it was the past, but someone has to pay the price for the future. We can't just forgive and forget. It don't work like that. Not in this case. When we gat the answers we are looking for and that someone pays the price, then we can forgive and forget.
I don't know how I should feel about this issue. I think I would personally prosecute the officials if the power to do so were in my hands. But, Barack is a different person and he is using mercy on them by allowing them to blame it on what they were allowed to do. Just because your given permission to torture and act violently toward another human being, doesn't mean you should.
I don't agree. I think that people should that commit war crimes should be persecuted for war crimes. If someone brutally attacks you and you know who it is but you haven't taken the time to take them to court, you should find some time to do it. Injustice should be punished.
Great quote wow.
We should be learning from these mistakes, these errors in judgement. Americans knew what was going on for a majority of time during the Bush presidency and we ignored it; we turned the other cheek. He alone is not to blame for the spying and torture- we all are. All we can do now is face the past and see it in full perspective; hopefully we won't make the same mistakes again when electing such a powerful person.
I do not believe that the U.S. should act in ways that could be categorized as torture. We shouldn’t prosecute people for doing it in the past but take measures so it doesn’t happen in the future.
I think that Obama is doing the right thing. 2 negatives cannot make a right. I don't think those CIA officials necessarily deserve punishment either because they were under the rule of Bush's top administration. It is not necessarily their fault. It is more of who initiated the torture as punishment. If the CIA members were made to do it because it was their part of the job, then they wouldn't have been able to do much about it. Obama understands both party's concerns and I believe he is doing the right thing by putting the past in the past and not punishing those whose fault it may not be.
I do not believe that we should prosecute and i dont think that we should be able to because if they were told to do so even if by a president who is no longer in office they should do what they are told. However, now that they no that this is not what it right, they should stop and if they procede to do so then yes then they should be procuted
wow. I think that this is the right the decision is right. Obama needs to concentrate more of his time in more important stuff.
I think that Bush did mess some things up. And I can't wait to see what Obama will do to turn us around and fix al the things that Bush screwed up.
Obama is right. We, as a country, need to move forward. We cannot keep looking to the past. However it is important that during his negotiations and peace talks with other countries, he must not compromise national security.
At first it bothered me that Obama had done this, but then I thought about it and I agree somewhat that the U.S. & Obama should be proactive, not retroactive. Our nation has so many current problems that looking back at the past and trying to atone for mistakes that we can't take back isn't the top priority. As much as it bothers me that we have made mistakes like that, it is only logical to try to prevent those from happening again instead of looking for retribution.
I dont understand how u can get rid of a program that "never existed," well acording to the government. So who knows, mabe Obama did it so people would forget about the other things he is doing. I don't agree that the torture teqnigues they used were the best. I think they would get more information out of them if they made them listen to Hanna Montatana or the Jonas Brothers. Now thats torture to me.
I think this is stupid. If these guys know something critical to our nations safety, i think that out agencys should be allowed to use whatever means necessary to extract that information. I somebody was boasting of another 9/11 attack we need to get information....but you cant touch him!! What person is going to give our government information that has the capability of putting them behind bars for life without a bit of "Encouragement". Cmon Obama!!!
I think this post is a bit outdated as it appears Obama has since gone back and now said that former Bush Administration officials may be prosecuted. I believe that this should under no circumstances be carried out. Whether you did or didn't agree with the use of harsh interrogation used on detainees, it is completely unconstitutional and undemocratic to change a policy and retroactively apply consequences to the former users of the opposing policy (much like how they are considering retaxing certain items such as tobacco products). Also, while Bush was not necessarily that great, I think that Obama should stop trying to be the Anti-Bush, doing the exact opposite of something wrong doesn't necessarily make you right, rather, one may simply be wrong in a different way.
I think this post is a bit outdated as it appears Obama has since gone back and now said that former Bush Administration officials may be prosecuted. I believe that this should under no circumstances be carried out. Whether you did or didn't agree with the use of harsh interrogation used on detainees, it is completely unconstitutional and undemocratic to change a policy and retroactively apply consequences to the former users of the opposing policy (much like how they are considering retaxing certain items such as tobacco products). Also, while Bush was not necessarily that great, I think that Obama should stop trying to be the Anti-Bush, doing the exact opposite of something wrong doesn't necessarily make you right, rather, one may simply be wrong in a different way.
I think in a moral aspect, these people should be prosecuted, they used inhumane tactics on human beings to gain information, but at what cost will people stop? However, I believe Obama is wise by basically saying we need not to dwell in the past but yet focus on the future so we can begin a new chapter in our history. He puts it best by saying "laying blame" instead we should be proactive in making sure our future interrogation practices are performed in a non-aggressive way.
I think that now is a "time for reflection, not retribution" but that doesn't mean that people doing things cruel and unusual interrogation. Does that make us any better than them? I think not. The U.S. is slowly fading into something that deserves the rude comments from others. "Laying blame for the past" is exactly what these CIA members are doing when they use these practices on people that did us wrong in the past. Obama doesn't need to go along with everything Bush supported. He is his own person.
Speaking of, what are these "secrets" that Obama is covering and supporting from Bush? Hmm...
This is a very admirable thing to do because when these methods of interrogation were in practice, they weren't illegal. The interrogators should not be prosecuted because they technically did nothing against the law, just specific morals.
Why would we punish those who carried out the orders? They were merely following orders...if they didn't do what they were told they would probably be put against a wall and shot, or just treated as though they were terrorists themselves for not wanting to do the orderes
I believe that Obama has a point.
It all makes sence of course, because the past is the past. People have already learned
and way more different things
have tooken place.
Then again you never know,
because anything could go bad at anytime.
I think that Obama made the right decision not to prosecute anymore.
Because with the prosecution of Saddam that got way out of hand and we dont need anymore situations like this
I think that is a bad idea. How else are we going to get people to confess to thier crimes.
I think it is wise of President Obama to not spend time and money on punishment but instead shine a light on it and focus on more pertinent issues. What has happened cannot be undone but we should acknowledge it and move on.
I guess I understand this although I also think it isn't exactly fair that people who are cruel should just be able to walk away from what they have done without any consequences. If you enter a contract though that says it is ok to do something, I can see how it would be wrong to punish those people when the standards change. I still hope that changes will be made so that it is not acceptable to torture prisoners of war. It just isn't right...
I agree with him. They were just doing what they were ordered to do, and even if it was bad, we have neither the time nor the resources to punish them.
While I agree that sometimes we can be overambitious in our interrogations, I don't see a need to let offenses go unpunished. What kind of a name are we creating for the United States if we let offenders off the hook? Some things call for action.
Honestly I don't know why this is a big deal, yes torturing is bad but it was probly done for good reason. Like finding the terrorists before they strike. Sometimes you have to do a bad thing for an even greater cause.
I think Obama is right, we should let the past be forgotten and make the future great.
No! We should not prosecute those CIA employees. I can sympathize for those employees. Im not saying that the agressive interrogations that they conducted was right, but if i were to witness some kind of terrorist blow my best friends head off and then got a chance to interrogate that particular terrorist, that my interrogation tactics would be pretty aggressive myself. I think that what happened in the past should be left in the past. Their is nothing that President O can do or anyone else. We have a lot to look forward to in our future and its just not good to focus on something in the past.
Once again we find out something else that was wrong with the Bush administration. I think this was a great decision because these terror interrogation techniques were legal in the Bush administration. I really like that President Obama said "This is a time for reflection not retribution". This will help us put more time in our future than in the past.
Obama makes a good point. Why focus on the past when there's so much to repair now? It wouldn't accomplish much, if not nothing, and there are too many problems to worry about now, that will not be repaired by dwelling on past issues.
This, I think, is wise of Mr. President Obama... instead of making a big deal of what we've already been debating for ages since it happened, he's just saying "Let's move on." Even though, yes, it all happened, it's something to be learned from. There is some efficacy in being merciful and forgiving, I think. As long as it's made clear that whatever DID happen will never be tolerated from this point forward.
I think that that was probley a stupid idea. What the President did was make the US look like we will not take the appropriate actions to definding our country from terrorism.
i believe that we shouldn't prosecute the torturers because it seems as though it is the only way to make people talk sometimes. For example, you can't just say "tell me what you know" and they will say "ok, this is what i did....." it's not that simple. I'm not saying i like torture I'm just saying we should prosecute the torturers.
I agree with Obama. We have been through a dark time in history and it's time we made a change.
well sounds like Obama made his first smart comment yet. It's not about blame, but change Now if change happens i would die from shock.
i wasn't in class on monday so i'm not sure if we had to blog this week or not, it doesn't really look like there are any new topics.
but, mr.perry, prom was great. i hope you're having a good weekend as well.
So I think its pretty good that obama isnt dwelling on what we did wrong and making a huge deal about it. Yeah the last guy messed up, but thats why you start to fix it.
Okay its not their fault I mean come on!!! They were just doing what there told to do, its just a like a mother telling her children to clean their room are they going to listen of course.So almost the same the government employees did what they were told so they should not be punished.
Prosecuting the CIA members would be wrong because they were faollowing orders. So I agree there but, i would give some kind of punishment to the epole who approved it. Correctin mistakes is part of a better future if they the think they can get away wiht it now they will in the future.
okay yes these employees have done horrible things, but they were following orders. i think they know what they did wrong and knowing this is punishment enough.
okay yes these employees have done horrible things, but they were following orders. i think they know what they did wrong and knowing this is punishment enough.
This was yet another safe move for the President. He realy only said that he would do nothing (as usual). This interogation/torture buisness is not as big a deal though as people make it. i think all methods of interogation should be absolutely allowed.
I also agree with Obama, He should punish people of the past he needs to move on and get the economy back up and all the other stuff he has to do as president.
why should they be punished for doing what they were told to do. that's ridiculous.
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