In a truly "through the looking glass" moment, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune has decided that adherence to the rule of law is a partisan issue!
What's more, it is an issue that the Democrats are on the wrong side of because, you see, they're in favor of it.
Follow me below the fold and down the rabbit hole...
In an editorial in today's (11/02/07) edition, titled "No, he's not for torture," the Trib's editorial board fully acknowledges the illegality of waterboarding.
The technique is illegal under the 2005 anti-torture amendment promoted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). That law prohibited "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners -- including waterboarding, as McCain and others reiterated in a letter sent to Mukasey this week.
The Trib's editors conveniently ignore Bush's signing statement, the one he issued immediately after signing the McCain bill, in which he indicated that he would ignore the law, since he's taken it upon himself to assume the duties of the judicial branch in determining what is and is not constitutional.
And of course, the Trib could have mentioned that waterboarding is illegal under the Geneva Conventions, to which this country is a signatory, and the prosecution of Japanese soldiers for engaging in waterboarding during WWII.
But let's at least give the Trib's editors some props: They agree that waterboarding is illegal.
BUT, the Trib argues, Mukasey shouldn't have to admit that it's illegal in order to win confirmation. Why?
But he won't say it is illegal. And there's at least one important reason: Such a declaration could open the potential for criminal prosecution or lawsuits against CIA officers who used the harsh interrogation practice. It could also endanger their bosses and anyone else who authorized the practice. (Emphasis mine.)
So there you have it! Waterboarding is illegal. But we shouldn't hold anybody who engaged in this illegal act accountable, least of all the bosses (gee, I wonder who that would be) who directed it.
It you'd like to contact the Tribune's editorial page director, that would be Mr. Bruce Dold. He can be e-mailed at bdold@Tribune.com.