Saying Yes to Torture
Perhaps I’m the only one around who is disappointed that Attorney General select Alberto Gonzales has disavowed torture. After all, didn’t we expect President Bush’s pick to replace the most dangerous man in America (as Rep. Jim McDermott described Aschroft) with another man equally dangerous to our civil liberties. Couldn’t Gonzales have said that he’d prefer torture for terrorist or better yet he’d require it. And then he’d want to bring it home and remove the attachment to al-Qaeda as a requirement because everyone knows that the whack jobs sneaking about this country and elsewhere respond well to the threat of torture. And think how many Congressional votes he’d secure, from hate filled Republicans, for a future ascension to the Supreme Court. But no, Gonzales turns out to be a gentleman.
His defense of his previous statements was admirable. "We are nothing like our enemies, Senator," he said. And he was right. We debate mistreatment and humiliation as if it were torture. We discuss isolated cases as if they were systemic and wholly authorized. And finally, we punish those responsible for mistreatment and keep a vigilant eye open to other possible abuses.
We are nothing like our enemies. And Alberto Gonzales is neither enemy nor monster. Those who choose to see naught but our errors, will never recognize their blindness or the virtuous who simply aspire to serve and defend us all.
Some other opinions well worth reading are offered at the Belmont Club and Belgravia Dispatch.
