“WE DO NOT TORTURE”….President Bush today:
Any activity we conduct is within the law. We do not torture.
Fine. Then shut down the black sites, tell Dick Cheney to stop lobbying against the McCain amendment, and allow the Red Cross unfettered access to prisoners in our custody. After all, if the events of the past four years had happened in any other country in the world ? the abuse, the memos, the photos, the relentless opposition to independent inspections ? isn’t that the least it would take for any of us to believe it when that country’s head of state declared “We do not torture”?
It’s not going to be easy for the United States to regain its credibility as a country dedicated to combatting barbarism and supporting human rights. That’s all the more reason we should start now.
UPDATE: As usual on this subject, Andrew Sullivan says it better.
UPDATE 2: Read Fareed Zakaria too: “I have a suggestion that might improve Bush’s image abroad….It’s simple: end the administration’s disastrous experiment with officially sanctioned torture.”
