Sen. Leahy Echoes Clips & Comment; Calls for Truth Commission on Bush Presidency

Ever since I submitted two ideas to then President-elect Barack Obama’s “Citizens Briefing Book,” I’ve wondered whether or not anyone with any real pull read them.

My answer: Perhaps Sen. Patrick Leahy did.  According to the Associated Press today:

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is proposing a “truth commission” to investigate abuses of detainees, politically inspired moves at the Justice Department, and whole range of decisions made during the Bush administration.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the primary goal of the commission would be to learn the truth rather than prosecute former officials, but said the inquiry should reach far beyond misdeeds at the Justice Department under Bush to include matters of Iraq prewar intelligence and the Defense Department.

Leahy outlined his suggestion for a “truth and reconciliation” commission during a speech at Georgetown University Monday.

“I’m doing this not to humiliate people or punish people but to get the truth out,” he said.

The panel he envisions would be modeled after one that investigated the apartheid regime in South Africa. It would have subpoena power but would not bring criminal charges, he said.

Among the matters Leahy wants investigated by such a commission are: the firings of U.S. attorneys, treatment and torture of terror suspect detainees, and the authorization of warrantless wiretapping.

“Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened” during the Bush administration, Leahy said.

Here’s what I wrote at change.gov and on this fine blog back on January 17:

… Here’s an idea – a truth commission.  What if the concept was based around answering the questions regarding the Constitution, the efficacy of torture, who was ultimately responsible, etc.  This could be done in such a way as to put off any public hearings or transparency until after a bipartisan panel of serious legal, policy experts and just plain citizens had a chance to pursue the issues with subpoena power under a media blackout.  Their product would be public. …

FIRST!

Bin Laden Could Be Thinking – ‘Mission Accomplished’

The Bush Administration official in charge of reviewing practices at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has told the Washington Post that the U.S. tortured a Saudi national.

“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.

Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.

Earlier this week, an Obama transition official leaked that President-elect Barack Obama may issue an executive order to close the Guantanamo detention center.  A day later, the Pentagon, oblivious to the signal sent by the Obama team trotted out numbers alleging as many as 61 former inmates at Guantanamo had “returned” to their terrorist ways.

President George W. Bush and V.P. DICK Cheney have spent the last three weeks on a farewell tour of sorts doing interviews on their eight years in office.  Over the past five years, evidence has mounted that Bush Administration at the highest levels essentially sanctioned torture by CIA and military interrogators.  In the face of that evidence, neither the president or vice-president have admitted mistakes in their prosecution of the war on terror.  Today, a very credible member of their administration did so for them.

The Bushies are leaving office and trying their hardest to build a case for a positive legacy.  What many around the world will remember is torture, black sites and renditions.  In the wake of one of America’s most trying times – 9/11 – our leaders succumbed to their baser human instincts and turned their backs on the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.  They created a climate of fear rather than one of strength of purpose.  They tore at the unique American fabric in ways we may not even yet realize.  In some respects, Osama bin Laden must be thinking, “Mission Accomplished.”

Bush’s Last Stand – Or, You Won’t Have Bush to Kick Around Anymore

Bush Tells ‘Opiners’ to Pound Salt

Uh, Mr. President, it’s not just the media elite and a few Norwegians and Swedes over there in Europe who feel your Administration has eviscerated America’s moral authority.

The Real Clear Politics average approval rating for George W. Bush stands at 27%.  Check out the Pew Research World Opinion Map.  It doesn’t look like Mr. Bush is popular anywhere except for Tanzania and for some reason, India.

I only got to hear a bit of Bush today on the radio at work.  What I heard didn’t completely sound like the usual Bush newser.  There was a bit of wistfulness, but there was still a great deal of that Bush defiance.  Damn those who don’t agree with him, he’s right — just ask him.  You can check out the transcript here.

This was so much better than the sit-down interviews he’s done on all the networks.  Someone actually asked him, directly, what he thinks about President-elect Barack Obama and others who have said there is a lot of work to be done to restore America’s moral standing in the world. In part, he answered:

I’ve heard all that. My view is, is that most people around the world, they respect America. And some of them doesn’t like me, I understand that — some of the writers and the, you know, opiners and all that. That’s fine, that’s part of the deal. But I’m more concerned about the country and our — how people view the United States. They view us as strong, compassionate people who care deeply about the universality of freedom.

The first thing I thought when I read, “they respect America” is that perhaps the healthy respect you have for a beloved member of the family who is always there for you has been replaced by the fearful respect you have for the neighborhood bully when you’re a kid.  When I was surfing around looking for info on world public opinion I found this piece from The Guardian, a newspaper in London, U.K.  The story is about a group of newspapers around the world that banded together to do a world opinion survey during the latter days of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.  This part was interesting when it comes to the fear factor:

Many people now fear rather than warm to America. In France 25% of voters say relations with the US are tense, against 38% who say they are friendly and 39% who think they are neutral. In Japan only 16% say friendship and 19% tension, with 62% neutral. In no country does a majority think relations should be described as friendly.

Even America’s two neighbouring states are sceptical of US intentions. Only 23% of Mexicans describe relations as friendly and 28% say they are tense. In Canada, which has just re-elected a Conservative minority government, voters are strongly supportive of a Democratic presidency; 43% say relations with the US are friendly and 14% tense.

Today may have been Bush’s Last Stand with the media, but America, brace yourselves, the long goodbye continues on Thursday night when we hear the 43rd President’s farewell address.  Let me guess, he’ll tell us that he’s right and the rest of us are wrong.

Bush Administration Got One Right with Rebuff of Israeli Requests for Aid to Attack Iran

The New York Times is reporting that Israel asked the U.S. for special munitions and overflight privileges over Iraq last year in either an effort to launch its own raid against Iranian nuclear sites or to goad the Bush Administration in taking an offensive action against Iran before the expiration of George W. Bush’s term.  According to the Times report, the Israelis were refused on both accounts, but an increase in intelligence has begun with respect to Iran.

At some point, perhaps in the near future, a U.S. president will have to make the decision on whether or not to take out Iranian nuclear sites.  Let’s say it’s a given that a nuclear-armed Iran is untenable.  If the U.S. is to be involved at all in removing such a capability were it to exist, the worst thing we could do is to aid any Israeli effort to take out Iranian nuclear sites.  If and when action is taken it needs to be either the Americans or the Israelis, preferably the Americans who make the move.

The Middle East is enflamed enough with anti-Israeli and anti-American sentiments that we don’t need to tie ourselves any more than necessary to the Israeli millstone.

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Transcript: Obama Presser – Economy, Panetta, Middle East | January 6, 2009

(Source: CQ TranscriptsWire)

SPEAKER: PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

[*] OBAMA: When the American people spoke last November, they were demanding change, change in policies that helped deliver the worst economic crisis that we’ve seen since the Great Depression, but they’re also looking for a change in the way that Washington does business. They were demanding that we restore a sense of responsibility and prudence to how we’d run our government.

One of the measures of irresponsibility that we’ve seen is the enormous federal debt that has accumulated, a number that has doubled in recent years. As we just discussed, my budget team filled me in on — Peter Orszag now forecasts that, at the current course and speed, a trillion-dollar deficit will be here before we even start the next budget, that we’ve already looked — we’re already looking at a trillion-dollar budget deficit or close to a trillion-dollar budget deficit, and that potentially we’ve got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on at this point.

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DICK Cheney and State Sponsored Torture

VP DICK Cheney appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation this morning.  This interview wasn’t substantively different from any of the others he’s done in the past month:

Cheney also urged the Obama administration to continue the Bush administration’s interrogation policies.

“I would hope [Obama] would avoid doing what others have done in the past, which is letting the campaign rhetoric guide his judgment in this absolutely crucial area,” Cheney said. “We were very careful, we did everything by the book, and in fact we produced very significant results.”

So many problems with that statement, DICK.  There are a great many smart people, including former members of the Bush Administration who warned you and David Addington about getting too carried away with agressive interrogation techniques.  Chief among their concerns was something we patriots like to call the U.S. Constitution.  There’s also this other little concern known as the Geneva Convention.  You can argue all you want that our foes in the war on terror are not lawful combatants, but the rest of the world needs to somewhat agree, or, it looks like selective application of an international human rights treaty.  And, what about the old bromide that we’re not going to stoop to their level.  There’s so much more than campaign rhetoric behind the criticisms of the Bush Administration’s endorsement of torture.

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Transcript: President George W. Bush Radio Address | Gaza Crisis Fault of Hamas | January 2-3, 2009

(Source: White House Press Office, Radio Address to be Broadcast Saturday, January 3)

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Over the past week, I have been monitoring the situation in the Middle East closely with the members of my national security team. Secretary Rice is actively engaged in diplomacy. And I’ve been in contact with leaders throughout the region — including the King of Saudi Arabia, the King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, the President and Prime Minister of the Palestinian Territories, and the Prime Minister of Israel.

This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas — a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel’s destruction. Eighteen months ago, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup, and since then has imported thousands of guns and rockets and mortars. Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but Hamas routinely violated that ceasefire by launching rockets into Israel. On December 19th, Hamas announced an end to the ceasefire and soon unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortars that deliberately targeted innocent Israelis — an act of terror that is opposed by the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people, President Abbas.

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Video: Meet the Press | December 28 | Livni, Axelrod & Predictions from Panel

Transcript: David Axelrod on ‘Meet the Press’ | December 28, 2008

(Source: NBC’s Meet the Press)

MR. GREGORY:  And turning back home, we are now joined from Chicago by senior adviser to President-elect Obama, David Axelrod.  Welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

MR. DAVID AXELROD:  Thanks, David.  Good to be here.

MR. GREGORY:  What is the president-elect’s position on this offensive against Gaza by Israel?

MR. AXELROD:  Well, obviously, it’s a very serious situation.  He spent some time on the phone with Secretary Rice yesterday, and he is monitoring the situation.  But we’ve said repeatedly through this transition period that we–there’s only one president at a time, and President Bush speaks for the United States of America until January 20th, and we’re going to honor that moving forward.

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Fox News’ Chris Wallace Gets Long Interview with Cheney and The Word “Torture” Is Not Uttered Once

Chris Wallace may come from the same gene pool of his dad, 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace, but he couldn’t carry his dad’s reporter’s notebook.

As I watched Wallace interview DICK Cheney today on Fox News Sunday, I was given more reason to lament the hard times our U.S. newspaper industry is experiencing.  The only pure journalists left are at the nation’s dailies, where journalism is a craft and the pursuit of truth and both sides of the story is relentless.

TV just doesn’t have the time, or the journalistic talent for the most part to act as the Fourth Estate, the Watchdog.  Wallace failed his country miserably today when he did not press Cheney on the U.S. torture policy in the wake of 9/11.  Part of the problem must me be that he’s an airhead — does he lack basic information or the ability to synthesize it?  The other part of the problem is that Fox is going to run out the Bush Administration string and remain the “Republican Network” until January 19.

Here’s another thing Wallace did today that will hopefully have the elder Wallace on the phone bawling him out.  He gave in to doublespeak, the euphemism.  In a word search of the interview with Cheney, not once does the word “torture” cross either one of these guys’ lips.  Here’s the closest either one ever comes to calling torture, torture:

I think you can have a robust interrogation program with respect to high-value detainees. -  Dick Cheney

There is a legitimate argument to be made that much of what the U.S. did under the Bush Administration in the so-called War on Terror actually exacerbated the problem in many parts of the world.  By setting up Guantanamo, extraordinary rendition, black-site dententions and torture, they did more to dishonor the Constitution and rile up a generation of Third World extremists than they ever did to keep us safe.

The butcher’s bill for the arrogance and paranoia of Dick Cheney will likely be paid well into the future.  Chris Wallace didn’t even scratch the surface.

Transcript: DICK Cheney on Fox News Sunday | The Exit Interview | December 21, 2008

(Source: CQ Transcriptswire)

Editor’s Note: This portion of the show transcript contains only the Cheney interview.

Mr. Chris WALLACE: Mr. Vice President, welcome back to “Fox News Sunday.”

Vice-President Dick CHENEY: It’s good to be back, Chris.

WALLACE: The president has announced a $13 billion short-term loan to the U.S. auto makers without binding conditions on the unions or the bond holders.

Haven’t you, in effect, kicked this problem down the road to the Obama administration?

CHENEY: Well, I wouldn’t describe it quite the way you did, Chris. I think what he’s tried to do is manage a difficult problem. And obviously, an important consideration is the fact that we’re in the middle of a transition and that it will shortly become a problem that the next administration’s going to have to deal with. Read more

Transcript: President George W. Bush at American Enterprise Institute, Includes Q&A | December 18, 2008

(Source: White House Press Office)

10:44 A.M. EST

MR. DeMUTH: Mr. President, what’s on your mind this morning?

THE PRESIDENT: First, thanking you for being the leader that you’ve been, and thanking AEI for generating good thought. People in the public arena need to have support for philosophy — and that’s what you provide, so I appreciate all your hard work.

I thought I’d share some thoughts about the presidency — you could call it “reflections by a guy who’s headed out of town.” (Laughter.) And then I’d be glad to answer questions — and foreign policy, if you want to. Read more

The Significance of Shoe Throwing and the Bush Foreign Policy Bottom

I woke up from a nap today and my wife told me that an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President George W. Bush today in Baghdad.

Admittedly, I think Bush has been a fool and he and his administration (ie. DICK Cheney) seemed to have dropped the tranny while the car was in reverse early in his first term.  This topic has been covered here before, and frankly, I’m bored with it.  This shoe throwing, however, deserves some attention.

If you spend any great amount of time outside of the 50-state strip mall we call America, and you’re not a jerk, you’ll pay attention to the cultural mores and taboos of the regions you visit and attempt to conform so as not to piss off the locals.  Eleven years ago I had the opportunity to spend some time in the Persian Gulf region.  I learned that one should mind their feet in the Arab world.

Well into my pints and having a grand time chatting with a Saudi businessman in a Bahraini hotel lounge, this big Arab guy was suddenly looming over me in my overstuffed leather chair, glaring.  My new friend got a flash of “Houston, we have a problem …” in his eyes and nodded toward my crossed leg and right foot propped up on my knee.

I instantly knew I had offended Big Arab Guy – he had sat down in a chair that left the sole of my right foot pointing at him.  I apologized in Arabic, put my foot down, apologized again and Big Arab Guy exchanged some quick words with the Saudi and returned to his seat.

I told my new friend sorry, and he shrugged it off. 

The point is, many Arab men can get their dander up pretty easy over points of honor or respect that wouldn’t even register here.  But feet — those are a level one violation.  The soles of one’s feet are thought by Arabs and many Muslims to be the dirtiest part of the body.  When you enter a mosque, the first thing you do is remove your shoes and socks and wash your feet.  Showing the soles of your feet is considered a grave sign of disrespect.

What Bush got today was the amped up version — you remove your shoes and slap someone with them.  In the case of U.S. heads of state with Secret Service protection, throwing your kicks at the prez will do just fine.

In any event, today’s shoe throwing is Bush’s official foreign policy bottom.  What should have been a quick PR trip to surreptitiously declare “Mission Accomplished” one more time before he leaves office will now be remembered for the shoe throwing incident.

Today I didn’t gloat over Bush getting what he deserves.  I genuinely felt a momentary pit in my stomach.  My how we’ve screwed things up so badly that a President of the United States would be shamed in such a profound way.  The Bushies probably don’t even realize what a low point this was today.

Video: Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes at Bush

For a little perspective on this incident, see this post.

Transcript: Bush Delivers Defense/Terrorism Speech at West Point | December 9

(Source: White House Press Office)

11:25 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please be seated. Thank you, General, for your warm welcome. Thank you for inviting me here to West Point. I now know why you’re so happy I’m here — (laughter — all classes were cancelled. (Applause.)

I had the honor of sitting next to the General and Judy during the game over the weekend. I am disappointed I could not bring the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with me. However, you just get the Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

This is my last visit to a military academy as President, so I thought I would exercise a certain prerogative of office one last time: I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. As always, I always — I leave it to General Hagenbeck to determine what “minor” means. (Laughter.) Read more

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