Conservative political and social commentary
Conservative
political and social commentary
| Contact us: dstol@prodigy.net |
First they came for the communists,
but I was not a communist, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the socialists
and the trade unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they
came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak out. And when they
came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
– Pastor Martin Niemoeller.
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| Prosecute for Guantanamo? - Monday, April 27, 2009 at 00:03 |
Obama Administration “Tortures” Thousands In a colossal blunder, the Obama administration spent in excess of $300,000 to arrange a photo opportunity for Air Force One and two fighter aircraft. The planes flew at extremely low altitude over lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Officials anticipated that panic would result but forbade the NYPD, the Secret Service and the FBI to make a public announcement. Why the extraordinary secrecy? Who was aboard? As any sane person would predict, thousands of New Yorkers fled into the streets in panic, fearing that a repeat of 9/11 was in progress. The panic lasted for some time, until it became clear that a terrorist attack was not imminent. Those who live through a life-threatening event often develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by hyper-vigilance, nightmares, flashbacks, and avoidance of similar situations. Witnessing an event that amounts to a re-enactment of the traumatic event may rekindle and exacerbate the disorder. Reports indicate that rough interrogation techniques were used on about 28 of the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo, and waterboarding − the most aggressive technique − is said to have been used on only three. As a result, valuable information was obtained that prevented terrorist attacks, specifically on Los Angeles. It is hypocritical in the extreme to profess concern about interrogation of a small number of enemies who want to kill us, but then to show no concern whatever for the fear, anxiety and emotional damage caused to thousands of our own citizens for a photo op. No doubt the White House has many photos available of Air Force One over Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. But since such a low-altitude flyover has not been done since 9/11, perhaps the White House needed photos not showing the Twin Towers. Some of us want to remember. Others want to forget, and act like 9/11 never happened. Prosecute for Guantanamo? Why Not for Elian, Waco, and Secrets Revealed? David C. Stolinsky, MD President Obama, in a futile attempt to placate his leftist base, reversed his prior position and approved the criminal investigation of former officials of the Bush administration, the CIA and the military. The investigation will determine whether criminal charges will be brought against those who used harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists at Guantanamo, the officials who approved the interrogations, and even the attorneys who advised that the techniques could be used. Such investigations run up against severe obstacles: · Many of the acts in question occurred years ago, so statutes of limitations will have run out. · Criminalizing political decisions is not only foolish; it also may flout the constitutional prohibition of bills of attainder − which are laws designed to punish specific persons. · Investigating what attorneys advised their clients violates attorney-client privilege, a cornerstone of our legal system. Attorneys must feel free to give their best advice, and not be second-guessed years later. · When someone is advised by a government attorney, he has a right to rely on that advice. If, years later, we bring criminal charges, we will find it difficult to prove criminal intent, and we may flout the constitutional prohibition of ex post facto laws − which punish past actions that were legal at the time they occurred. · Prosecutors must convince the jury that a crime was committed, that the defendant committed it, and that he knew it was a crime. But here the jury must also ignore the fact that the interrogators saved many lives, including averting a terrorist attack on Los Angeles. I am not an attorney. I learned to see reality in the outside world, not in a stack of papers. I learned that my most important duty is to preserve human life, not to check off all the boxes on a form. But what if we accept the dubious proposition that political actions should be criminalized? What if we agree that those who make decisions with the best intentions should still be subject to criminal charges if, years later, others see things differently? Let us turn the cold light of the criminal justice system back on those who now are shining it on others. What do we see? Elian Gonzalez. The six-year-old boy was brought to America by his mother, to save him from the tyranny of Castro’s Cuba. She drowned when the small boat sank. Elian clung to an inner tube, miraculously survived, and was turned over to relatives in Miami. Elian’s presumed father, whom the mother had divorced before Elian was born, remained in Cuba. Domestic violence was alleged against him. He sued, presumably at the behest of the Castro regime, to have Elian returned to Cuba. The custody case was pending in Family Court. DNA tests were never done. But the Clinton administration, as eager as the Obama administration to appease Castro, didn’t wait for the court to decide. Instead, Attorney General Janet Reno and Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder sent agents who broke down the door of the Gonzalez family home, threw a cameraman to the floor, pointed submachine guns at Elian and the man who rescued him from the sea, seized the screaming child, then dressed him in a communist Young Pioneers uniform and returned him to Cuba.
I do not know what federal and Florida statutes of limitation are for kidnapping, use of an automatic weapon in a violent crime, or terrorism. Probably the statutes have run out. But if evidence is concealed, the statute may begin to run again when the evidence is uncovered. A criminal investigation may reveal a piece of evidence that Holder and Reno concealed. We must be thorough. After all, we are a “nation of laws.” Holder is now Attorney General. He is in charge of the prosecutions of former Bush officials, which he reportedly favors. Holder had a key role in the Elian case. Elian was forced to grow up in Castro’s dictatorship, while Holder enjoyed the benefits of freedom. Perhaps it is time to even the score. The Waco siege. A religious cult, the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh, lived in plywood buildings – not a “compound” – outside Waco. There was suspicion that illegal weapons were present. The sheriff knocked on the door, was allowed to search, found nothing and left. But that didn’t satisfy federal agents. They didn’t knock on the door and ask to search. They didn’t arrest Koresh on one of his regular trips to town. That would have been too easy. Agents in black masks burst through upstairs windows. What would you do if masked men burst through your window? Shots were fired, and four agents were killed. The FBI, under Reno and Holder, took over the siege, with the help of the military. Electricity was cut off. Loud rap music was played night and day, as well as the screaming of dying animals – to unnerve the people and prevent them from sleeping. This resembles the sleep deprivation and emotional stress at Guantanamo that Holder is now investigating, and that Democrats claim is “torture.” Apparently it was not “torture” when Clinton was President, but it became “torture” after Bush took office. On April 19, 1993, the fiftieth anniversary of the Nazi attack on the Warsaw Ghetto, the final assault began. Army tanks broke through the walls and sprayed in large amounts of CS gas. Tear gas in closed spaces can reach lethal concentrations. Without electricity, the Davidians were using candles, and the assault occurred at night. When you knock down walls where flames are present, you expect fires. CS in this form is carried by acetone and ethanol, which are flammable. Even worse, fire plus tear gas produce phosgene, a lethal gas used in World War I, and if water is present, also produce cyanide gas – which was used in Nazi death camps. Cyanide was present in 44 of the corpses. The parallel is striking. When it was over, 84 civilians, about half of whom were persons of color, lay dead. Among them were 26 minors, by definition innocent hostages. Guantanamo is called “Nazi” by Democrats, yet they said little about Waco, because it was ordered by “their” President. But consider what happened at Waco:
If this doesn’t remind you of the Holocaust, you need to do some reading. Afterward, Reno “took responsibility” but remained in office, while Holder escaped blame entirely. Ironically, Holder is now the man President Obama trusts to investigate Guantanamo. In view of the Waco and Elian cases, would you trust Holder’s judgment? Bill Clinton was President during the Elian and Waco fiascos. He undoubtedly made the final decisions, while Hillary probably took part. Surely they should be questioned under oath about both cases. And Waco involved 84 murders, for with there is no statute of limitations, so criminal charges may still be brought. If we must criminalize politics, let’s investigate Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno and Eric Holder. And let’s investigate the members of Congress, including leading Democrats, who knew of and approved the Guantanamo interrogations. What did Democrats know and when did they know it? Then let’s begin collecting evidence on President Obama and his aides regarding the release of secret information on the interrogations. Experts state that making this information public aided our enemies. If Obama authorizes prosecution of officials in the Bush administration, he should expect to be investigated by a future administration. It is bad enough to stop doing what has kept America safe from major terrorist attacks since 9/11. It is even worse to threaten criminal prosecution of those who kept us safe. I can think of nothing more likely to inhibit officials from keeping us safe in the future, nothing more likely to dissuade allies from working with us − and nothing more likely to allow another 9/11. If that happens, the words “conspiracy to aid terrorism” and even “treason” may come to mind. Those who attempt to criminalize past administrations deserve to be criminalized by future administrations. But we deserve leaders who put the safety of the American people above politics. Still, if you believe it was “criminal” to “torture” suspected terrorists with sleep deprivation, emotional stress or even waterboarding, you might consider what you would do to prevent real criminals from subjecting innocent people to real torture:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/Ronbo/Ronbo_Main/Jumper1.jpg Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. He can be contacted at dstol@prodigy.net. www.stolinsky.com |
