Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the
ACLU/American Civil Liberties Union, posted an
editorial in the New York Times, Monday, offering a very radical solution for handling the perpetrators of government torture. Regarding the recently released report by the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Romero believes President Obama should issue pardons:
BEFORE President George W. Bush left office, a group of conservatives lobbied the White House to grant pardons to the officials who had planned and authorized the United States torture program. My organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, found the proposal repugnant. Along with eight other human rights groups, we sent a letter to Mr. Bush arguing that granting pardons would undermine the rule of law and prevent Americans from learning what had been done in their names.
But with the impending release of the report from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I have come to think that President Obama should issue pardons, after all — because it may be the only way to establish, once and for all, that torture is illegal.
Romero goes on to state that the ACLU and other organizations have sought prosecution and justice for 13 years, but failed to see any real action taken:
To his credit, Mr. Obama disavowed torture immediately after he took office, and his Justice Department withdrew the memorandums that had provided the foundation for the torture program. In a speech last year at the National Defense University, Mr. Obama said that “we compromised our basic values — by using torture to interrogate our enemies, and detaining individuals in a way that ran counter to the rule of law.”
But neither he nor the Justice Department has shown any appetite for holding anyone accountable. When the department did conduct an investigation, it appeared not to have interviewed any of the prisoners who were tortured. And it repeatedly abused the “state secrets” privilege to derail cases brought by prisoners — including Americans who were tortured as “enemy combatants.”
To expand on his suggestion, Romero gives specific examples of proposed pardons:
Mr. Obama could pardon George J. Tenet for authorizing torture at the C.I.A.’s black sites overseas, Donald H. Rumsfeld for authorizing the use of torture at the Guantánamo Bay prison, David S. Addington, John C. Yoo and Jay S. Bybee for crafting the legal cover for torture, and George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for overseeing it all.
This is where Romero completely loses me:
The spectacle of the president’s granting pardons to torturers still makes my stomach turn. But doing so may be the only way to ensure that the American government never tortures again.
Respectfully, it's unrealistic to think a presidential pardon will help put an end to government torture. And I can't see the rest of the world accepting that idea either. As news of the Senate's Intelligence Report travels around the globe, there will be more anger and backlash.
Romero states a political fallout will most likely occur if the president seeks criminal prosecution rather than pardons. Perhaps some fallout, but nothing compared to what this country might face if Obama issues pardons. Every minute Obama does not act, or hold the guilty accountable, we are encouraging and creating more enemies, terrorists, and possibly, the unthinkable torture of U.S. troops/journalists/citizens overseas. If the majority of Americans are outraged, one can only imagine how much more outraged other countries will be if the guilty are excused, not to mention the families and loved ones of those tortured and murdered.
Anthony Romero and the ACLU have been a positive and progressive voice for many Americans who cannot speak for themselves. Romero's ultimate goal to see government torture end is one in which most all of us can agree. Are pardons the answer? No. In fact, pardons would most likey encourage more acts of torture. With no real consequences, what would sadistic sociopaths like Dick Cheney have to lose?
To read Romero's full NY Times editorial here is the link.
To find out where many stand on this issue, here is an anonymous poll: