Homepage Feature

Ultimate responsibility for prisoner abuse

Play
Download

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3

CIA_logo150If the U.S. abused and tortured terrorist suspects, and broke the law, why shouldn’t the Obama administration expand its investigation into who was responsible? The World’s Matthew Bell looks at the implications of investigating a former president.>>>The BBC’s Kevin Connolly on President Obama’s dilemma

Discussion

3 comments for “Ultimate responsibility for prisoner abuse”

  • forrest jewell

    In the discussions over whether there should be investigations of the things done by the Bush administration I find it ridiculous that such investigations whould not take place.

    First, it seems to me that invading Iraq on the excuse of WMD when there were none is, to me, not much different thatn Hitler invading anywhere he liked on whatever whim he held. The US et al certainly tried the members of his regime. If the excuse of WMD was not a pack of lies then Bus et al should be cleared of suspicion that it was. If it was a pack of lies then the administrators of out government should be subjected to the same penalties as those of other governments.

    Second, I don’tunderstand the supposition that torture is somehow not torture and that the practice of torture is some kind of thing that was conducted by assorted rogue guards without support from the administration. Torture is sort of just torture and is against US policy. The adminstration practicing it is no different from the administrations of other societies conducting it and should be treated in ways established by the trials at the end og WWII. No, the US didn’t incinerate hundreds of millions of Jews and Poles and Gypsies and so forth. But the intention of exterminating Muslims is no different than the intention of exterminating Jews. And it seems at least plausible that members of the administration were conducting a crusade against Muslims. If it’s not legal to bomb a church because it is a place for blacks to worship and is not legal to kill people because they are black, it certainly should not be legal to randomly kill a million and a half Muslims out of the prejudice of the leaders of this society.

    I have become more-or-less ashamed of being part of the US and I would feel much better if either these kinds of observations were honestly shown to be either true or untrue and, if true, the people responsible be treated as the Nazi and Japanese people doing the same things were treated.

    Peace and Light and Love,

    Forrest Jewell

  • Grant Staley

    The gentleman who stated that pursuing past presidents’ and others’ wrong doings because it “weakens the body politic” and that we want our leaders to make tough decisions and shoulder the blame is off-base in my opinion. Yes, we want our elected officials to make tough choices and sometimes unpopular choices; but, they should also make legal choices. If we allow a set of laws apply to the rest of us yet permit others to be above the law, we have a dictatorship. This weakens the body politic, not reinforces it.

    Lastly, what message does ignoring the crimes committed send to our partners around the world? My opinion is that it screams that the US can do as it pleases, in other words bully all others without hope of reprisal.

    The US has a long history of prosecuting others who have committed crimes against the country or humanity. Why should they be held to a different standard? No, the time is now to apply the same laws to all.

  • Georgetta Dolphin

    Why do terrorists have so many rights?
    They are planning the death of innocent people and we treat them as if they are not murderers.
    Someone who is planning the death of another human being loses their rights of a human treatment.
    I find it ridiculous that the Obama administration is wasting tax payers money of investigating whether these murderers were treated human.
    Do you treat a home invader who is after your family humane? No.
    You will club to death if needed to protect yourself and family. right?
    Anyhow, I am shocked that Obama shows the whole world what losers we Americans are.