LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Torture can’t go without prosecution

Richard Pratt, Las Vegas

Sunday, Sept. 6, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

Regarding David Broder’s column in Thursday’s Las Vegas Sun headlined “Holding Bush team accountable for torture not worth consequences”:

I can understand Mr. Broder’s argument. To investigate and possibly prosecute a former president would do serious damage to the country. President Barack Obama’s desire to look forward, not backward, has a lot of merit.

But if President Obama is really looking forward, he should be asking himself what would happen if a future president decides to use torture again, citing President George W. Bush’s actions as precedent?

If we allow the use of torture to be a policy set by the president, rather than a criminal activity, we are opening the door for future abuses. We would be confirming Dick Cheney’s philosophy that if the president of the United States authorizes it, it is legal.

If we are to accept Cheney’s philosophy, then we would have to accept that the president of the United States, and every other head of state, is above the law. I, for one, am not ready to accept that.

As damaging as it might be to prosecute a former president, it would be far more damaging to do nothing. At what point do we draw the line and say to the world that we are a nation of laws?

Discussion: 13 comments so far…

By Future

9/6/09 at 4:44 a.m.

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Attorney General Eric Holder appointed prosecutor John Durham to conduct a preliminary probe to determine whether a full investigation and possible criminal prosecution against CIA officers and, in a limited number of cases, contractors, went beyond the legal guidelines for EITs.

- The data used by Durham are not new.

- The data was reviewed by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia once already.

- The career prosecutors concluded that only one case should be pursued.

- It was and the contractor is serving time in prison.

- IG John L. Helgerson noted that case in his report.

The strains became evident inside the administration in the past several weeks. In July, Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, tried to head off the investigation, administration officials said. He sent the C.I.A.'s top lawyer, Stephen W. Preston, to Justice to persuade aides to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to abandon any plans for an inquiry.

Mr. Preston presented that potential cases against intelligence operatives were legally flawed and noting that they had already been investigated, some more than once.

In none, C.I.A.'s top lawyer, Stephen W. Preston said, had prosecutors found grounds for charges.

In none, C.I.A.'s top lawyer, Stephen W. Preston said, had prosecutors found grounds for charges.

In none, C.I.A.'s top lawyer, Stephen W. Preston said, had prosecutors found grounds for charges.

Wew can only conclude that Obama is on a witch hunt.
By Birdiedreamin

9/6/09 at 7:51 a.m.

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typical retarded republican nonsense...
to our retarded republican friends the ends always justify the means...
even if that means torture...
sad...
truly sad...
torture will cause our soldiers to be tortured when they are cuaght...
torture has ruined our reputation abroad...
torture is a big part of the reason other countries aren't helping us in afghanistan...
torture has caused us to lose our moral authority...
but our retarded republican friends feel like they are above the law...
our retarded republican friends are like little children...
crying and crying and crying for absolutely everything they want...
are there any adults left in the retarded republican party???
By jfnance32

9/6/09 at 8:10 a.m.

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The career prosecutors at the Justice department have already investigated this matter and have already convicted one CIA member for some crimes.

Why does the Obama adminstration want to put our country at risk just to appease its nutty koolaid leftwing?
By LarryVegas

9/6/09 at 8:40 a.m.

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"Torture can't go without prostitution"

My favorite is the Medieval torture rack.

Worked good and was cheap to operate...

Did wonders for lower back pain...

Chiropractors got together and had it outlawed. They said it hurt their business.

Yes, I am as silly as this discussion topic...
By Sunlizard

9/6/09 at 9:36 a.m.

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As long as Obama keeps his bloody war going on in Afganistan, torture, rape, murder of children and all of the other ugly things associated with war will continue on his watch.

Like Bush, Obama has no clue of how ugly his war is. He never fought a war, but he is killing people. These "tough" guys have no clue.

Trying to blame only Bush for the horrors of war is now redundant. Obama is now the war monger. Wake up America. The new monster is not too much greater than the old monster...
By RHG

9/6/09 at 9:46 a.m.

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Please, these liberal screamers about "torture" don't care about people getting tortured. They want communist style show trials to be used against people they disagree with politically. If it came out there was some "torture" done under the Obama administration you wouldn't hear anything out of their mouths or the leftwing medias mouth for that matter too.
By SgtRock

9/6/09 at 10:12 a.m.

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Obama is ordering the murder of terriorists and their families and friends. These terrorists are located in an allied country. They are only "suspected" terrorists. Their families and friends are not "suspected" terrorists. They are not getting their day in court or any sense of due process of law. How about just arresting them, reading their miranda rights, bring them to the USA and giving them a full criminal trial before a judge and jury?

How come the left is not whining about that?
By Houstonjac

9/6/09 at 2:46 p.m.

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You've got a screw loose Mr. Pratt You should be begging the Obama administration to give Bush a metal for keeping your ungrateful ass safe for 8 years after 9/11. Instead go drink your liberal kool aid!
By cherad

9/6/09 at 6:18 p.m.

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what type of metal should we give Mr. Bush?? Heavy metal dude, you are an uneducated idiot! Did you ever consider that perhaps Mr. Bush was involved indirectly with 911? His father was an associate of Bin Laden's father. Makes Bill Ayers look like a school boy.
By LarryVegas

9/6/09 at 6:55 p.m.

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I thin cherad has a point here or there. Mr. Bush was probably the pilot of one of the planes. His dad Bush Sr. was in another one. Remember that both were pilots and new how to bail out. Cheny was in the one that hit the ground or building or something. Anyways, he jumped out before it hit the building or whatever. Thats wy he walks with a limp.

Bill Ayers did nothing wrong as he was playing with Barak and the Reverand at the time.
By teamster

9/6/09 at 10:34 p.m.

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Houstonjac:
Stop drinking your right-wing koolaid.
Bush was in charge when we attacked. Do
you call that keeping us safe?
By cherad

9/7/09 at 5:20 a.m.

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LarryVegas is a very perceptive luminary. Thanks for being so open minded to MY way of thinking. Power to the people!
By LarryVegas

9/7/09 at 1:58 p.m.

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Thank you cherad for your kind words... My wife says similar things about me also...