Should members of the Bush administration be charged with war crimes NOW?
@thegreatdebater (7316)
United States
April 6, 2012 9:23pm CST
A memo that the Bush administration attempted to destroy at all cost has been unearthed, and it ISN'T good. According to the memo the administrations own lawyers couldn't find ANY precedence to prove that the torture that they were approving was legal. Here is the exact quote from State Department counselor Philip Zelikow: “We are unaware of any precedent in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or any subsequent conflict for authorized, systematic interrogation practices similar to those in question here,"
If there own lawyers couldn't justify what they were doing, then why can the American people?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/torture-memo-bush_n_1408612.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
2 people like this
6 responses
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
7 Apr 12
And there are memos from other lawyers who authorized waterboarding. So, what we have here are memos from different lawyers with different legal opinions. And the two lawyers who approved and made a legal case to authorize the enhanced interrogation methods were cleared of wrongdoing by an internal Justice Department investigation.
So, if 2 out of 3 lawyers tell you that what you're doing is legal, what's the basis for accusing you of knowingly doing something illegal?
Of course, a big trial of members of the former administration might take the public's attention off the economy and the jobs market and the price of gas and maybe, just maybe, you can get your wish of having Obama running against 'the ghost of George Bush' instead of the actual Republican nominee.
Still ain't gonna happen.
2 people like this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Rollo, if this is nothing than why did the memo have the highest security clearance the is? The Bush administration did everything in their powers to make sure this memo NEVERsaw the light of day. The FOX News story goes into the constitutionality of this memo, and questioned if they did violate it. The author of the memo directly mentioned the lawyers who approved the torture, and explained why he wrote the memo. We all the the Bush administration cherry picked EVERYTHING that questioned what they wanted to do. This is just another example of that. But, is it against the law?
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Sorry, forgot the link to the FOX story
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/03/bush-era-official-objected-on-interrogation-view/
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Rollo, the Bush administration was WELL known for cherry picking information. There are numerous examples of them going from source to source to source to find the information THEY wanted (See WMD's). Wasn't it the same justice department that cleared them that these lawyers worked for? The NEW part of this is the level that this memo was raised to as a matter of national security. When have you seen a memo from a lawyer on a subject that has already been approved by DOJ lawyers have this kind of security clearance? Do you think someone at the state department was just in CYA mode? Do you think this memo has ANYTHING to do with Rice becoming Secretary of State?
@dark_joev (3034)
• United States
7 Apr 12
If we where going to go after charges against the Bush Administration then we would be forced to go after the Obama Administration for the same crimes has he as continued the same policies that Bush's Administration did.
Obama killed Yemen Civilians in an non-combat zone with a Drone strike in which no terrorist where killed or in the area. So Obama would be just as liable.
I personally am not in support of what the Bush administration did so I don't support the same policies that Obama has kept in place which is a large number. Also Obama has killed, read murdered a US Citizen without trial.
So if Bush is to be charged which I think he should for at least the violation of the US Constitution under Due Process so should Obama as he is expanding on Bush Administrations policies.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
7 Apr 12
"Obama killed Yemen Civilians in an non-combat zone with a Drone strike in which no terrorist where killed or in the area."
He also killed AMERICAN civilians in a non-combat zone in Yemen, including Al Alwiki's young child.
"When it comes to water ordering Obama ended that his second day in office."
He didn't end it, he outsourced it.
@dark_joev (3034)
• United States
7 Apr 12
He kept the Patriot Act in place an act that the Left was screaming for Impeachment on he also signed NDAA which contained several parts that with an simple Executive order could put on hold herbus corpus inside the United States to where you would then be arrested by the United States Military to be detained without trial or charge for an unlimited amount of time.
Obama has violated the Constitution far more than Bush. To the point I believe you could get him for both Murder in the case of the Americans he has killed through drone strikes as well as Treason in which he would no longer be an United States Citizen.
I believe that he has violated the Constitution something both the President or Congress can violate. He is one of the worst Presidents in modern history and at the rate he is going he will beat the living out of Bush.
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
I am not sure what Bush policies he has expanded, but that is ok. When it comes to water ordering Obama ended that his second day in office. I do agree with you on the constitution end of this, and does the president have the authority to violate the constitution EVER? That is the question?
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Anything better than a left wing blog as a source debater? If you really consider that adequate than I'd like to ask if you support impeachment hearings since blogs with similar credibility have already produced Obama's birth certificate from Kenya.
http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2009/08/obamas-kenyan-birth-certificate.html
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Tasks, is this a left wing blog? This is national story. If you read this link you will see that they tie more of a constitutional end to this. You should have been happy with the lrft wing blog
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/03/bush-era-official-objected-on-interrogation-view/
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Is this my favorite Def Leppard song?
Pour some water on me....ohhh...in the name of love.
Pour some water on me....ohhh...in the name of love. @thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
You could always start looking up terrorist related material on the internet and see what it feels like to be weatherboarded.
1 person likes this
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
7 Apr 12
I'm hoping it's as far removed from pleasant as I can imagine. It's not supposed to be pleasant. That's the point.
Sugar water 
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (48410)
• Mojave, California
7 Apr 12
Is it sugar water because I am pretty sure sugar was in there somewhere.
@crossbones27 (48410)
• Mojave, California
7 Apr 12
I think the country literally became insane after 9/11. Maybe Obama and his administration was right by just letting everything go and just say that was the past. Many of us became paranoid skitzos, which just led to the problem we are facing now. So maybe, we just move on and try to learn by taking a breath. Take a step back and just look at the overall picture and try not to make the same mistakes. This is the problem with trying to move to fast an reacting on anger instead of logic.
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
I understand what you are saying, and I do agree that it was a different time. But, if the Obama violated the constitution there would be investigations as far as the eye could see. Republicans are lucky liberal are so forgiving!
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
I understand what you are saying, but if doing the right thing means destroying the constitution than is it the right thing to do? I guess I could say that doing the thing with the health care mandate is fine if it violates the constitution because it is the right thing to do. It is a VERY Slippery slope.
@crossbones27 (48410)
• Mojave, California
7 Apr 12
Well Debater, lets just say we sleep better at night and lead by example. It should never be about getting even. It should be about doing the right thing for the country. I can say I think the Republicans were just trying to do the right thing for the country. Even though it was off and was not what the situation called for. People like to prove they are right, instead of doing right.
@Fatcat44 (1141)
• United States
7 Apr 12
Reading on, it talks also about killing of US citizens too....
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
7 Apr 12
I did read that part, and many are saying that is the reason why they did not pursue this any further. I wonder what will happen in regards to international war crimes after this gets out. They went to great lengths to make sure this report never saw the light of day, and you have to think why that is?
