“I would do it
again in a minute”
There are more
than a few people in Washington who think like Dick Cheney. What would they not
do “again in a minute” if they could?
Torture? No
hesitation.
More wars? Of
course.
Pulling the
nuclear trigger? At least “moral” questions wouldn’t get in the way.
What’s even scarier
than the torture revelations? The CIA, the NSA and their ubiquitous contractors
drive US operations all over the globe. Their network of interventions, subterfuge and
surveillance is unlimited, secret and unaccountable. The Senate’s “torture
report”, still mostly “classified”, lights partially one corner of a labyrinth.
But that little
light puts big questions in focus. These are the people — this is the morality
— we are asked to trust with the largest Big Brother surveillance system ever
fashioned? ‘Don’t worry. It’s only meta-data. Trust us.’
The news of the
last few weeks exposes a deep crisis of failed justice. Torturers and assassins
remain unpunished in Washington. No one accounts for taking Black lives.
Still, some
blindly repeat the mantras of American exceptionalism. ‘Only in America’ would
the truth be acknowledged. What about Argentina and Chile? South Africa?
Russia?
Yes, it’s good to know that on matters of torture most Americans are not like Cheney. On this, a salute goes to John McCain. But it’s worth being reminded that there are Cheneys and Pinochets under all flags.
Yes, it’s good to know that on matters of torture most Americans are not like Cheney. On this, a salute goes to John McCain. But it’s worth being reminded that there are Cheneys and Pinochets under all flags.
