Bush Torture Regime Revisited

I suspect most of the political Establishment will agree that Patrick Leahy's idea for convening a Truth Commission to look into the rampant criminality of the Bush Regime, is unrealistic, vindictive, overly partisan and... well, not really in the best interests of the political Establishment. Leahy, who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, "called for the commission as way to heal what he called sharp political divides and to prevent future abuses [and] compared it to other truth commissions, such as one in South Africa that investigated the apartheid era.

Issues to investigate would include the Justice Department's firings of several U.S. attorneys, which Leahy said may have been motivated by a White House aim to influence elections, policies on the treatment of terrorism suspects and other areas "where (congressional) committees were lied to."

This included the war in Iraq, he said. "There were lies told to the American people all the way through."

..."Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened," he said. "And we do that to make sure it never happens again," Leahy said.

Some Republicans and intelligence officials have resisted any suggestion of broad inquiries into accusations against the Bush administration, saying it would be a distraction or weaken morale in the fight against terrorism.

Progressives and human rights groups are applauding Leahy's proposal even though it seems to shy away from any kind of accountability for criminals (although Senator Leahy was talking just a few days ago about prison for the people who knowingly allowed salmonella to get into the food system.)

But what about the torture that Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and the entire Republican Establishment and their in house media shills told us wasn't happening? They poo-poo-ed waterboarding and compared it to a fraternity initiation. Is that how Limbaugh and Cheney would describe slicing a prisoner's genitals with a scalpel? Not torture? Is that substantively different from what people like Dr. Menegle were up to in Nazi Germany? The damage Bush and his regime have done to this country is incalculable. No punishment would ever be enough for any of them. Yes, we found the terrorists, alright; now will they be made to pay for their crimes?


UPDATE: RUSS FEINGOLD BACKS LEAHY TRUTH COMMISSION PROPOSAL

Russ: “I applaud Senator Leahy’s leadership in proposing the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission. Getting all the facts out about what happened over the last eight years is a crucial part of restoring the rule of law. As President Obama and Attorney General Holder have said, nobody is above the law. There needs to be accountability for wrongdoing by the Bush Administration, including the illegal warrantless wiretapping and interrogation programs. We cannot simply sweep these assaults on the rule of law under the rug.”