Proving the Negative

So the Republican leaders, and their talking heads, are now on the attack. And they're hitting several fronts. They're attacking the Democratic leadership, Nancy Pelosi specifically, and saying that she was aware of the torture, and condoned it. They're also using the old familiar fear tactic, implying that the ends justified the means, in order to save American lives.

The interesting thing about the what did Pelosi know and when did she know it tactic, is that it is not coming from people who were in the room. Yes, she was given information on the torture, what specifically nobody is for sure saying. The specifics of the information, and the method of presentation, are key. If she, and the other leaders, were informed that the tactics had been deemed legal, then unless she had been schooled in international law, she would not have raised any objections.

It's similar to the charge that Democratic congressmen, who gave Bush authorization for the war, had seen the evidence against Saddam and okayed it. That may have happened, but I'm darned sure that it was the cherry picked evidence, and I'm willing to bet it was pretty gussied up. Yes, these Democrats bought a pig in a poke. With lipstick.

As to the fear factor, yes the President should do whatever he can to protect American lives. But as a Constitutional officer, he must uphold the law. The Geneva Convention occurred not during the heated times of war, but in the cool, calculated, negotiated times of peace, when people could reflect on the horrible things that people are capable of, and try to stop them.

And so leaders of the civilized world are aware of the laws, and as such know that if they violate them, they will need a real damned good reason to do so. And, don't get me wrong, saving American lives is a damned good reason in my book. But what's getting lost in all the shouting, and this is intentional on the part of the conservatives, is that there is no proof that this information could not have been obtained legally. They never even tried. My god, they used people who had familiarity with methods designed to obtain false information! If there truly are documents showing that the torture produced information that thwarted attacks, that means that the administration screwed up again. They didn't obtain the planned misinformation, they got real information.

My buddy Joe Scarborough said today that such documents exist, that they reveal in clarity the direct line from information obtained through torture on to the arrests of people who were planning another attack. I wonder how he knows this, as even Dick Cheney does not have access to these documents.

Hm mm