Olbermann commentary calls for torture prosecutions-Jan. 19, 2009
Congratulations to President Barack Obama
and the Whole World is Watching and Hoping Your Word are sincere and that you be able to accomplish much for America but also turn the page towards an America that the world can once again trust and believe in
We wish you the best
But there's always a but because we hope America will act with more honor, integrity and humility in the future and that it is willing to take responsibility for any wrongs that it has done and that those who were responsible for the most egregious acts will be held responsible and dealt with in a firm and just manner.
Then the world can say to America " Welcome Back "
Today is an historic moment as Barack Obama an African-American is Inaugurated as President of the United States. This is a momentous occasion for the United States. The world is paying attention. The hopes and expectations are high that Obama may bring real change to America. The world at large is hoping Obama will have a positive effect on the American people. The task ahead of him is daunting given the mess left to him by the Bush/Cheney administration and its devotion to ideology and cronyism at the expense of average Americans. Their arrogance and actions have made the world less secure and much worse off than it was before Bush first came to power.
There are those of us who would like to see Obama move in a more progressive direction. So there is a long list of changes in policies which many of us wish to see put in place. But it must start by this new administration under President Obama changing America's perception of itself as always knowing what best for it and the world .
Here's a few things to consider ie stop supporting Israel unconditionally, stop supporting brutal anti-democratic regimes , stop promoting the idea that America knows what's best for the world , start acting as one nation among many and abandon the notion of American Empire building and that America should practice what it preaches and live up to its highest ideals and stop acting only in the interest of America or in the interest of American corporations - Part of the problem begins with America's conception of the so called War on Terror . Terrorism should be dealt with through other means than invading and occupying countries killing hundreds of thousands civilians this in the end leads to more hatred and the creation of a whole new generation of terrorists. Instead of going it alone America under the Obama administration should reach out to countries around the world to get them to assist in fighting terrorism . In doing so President Obama 's administration must prove that it believes in the "Rule of Law " and not just military force and using whatever means it can without a concern for international law or justice .
The new administration should show that it believes that the United Nations is not America's enemy or hostile to America's interest any more that it is hostile to any country's interests. If on the other hand a country violates the basic principles of International law or does not abide by the Geneva Conventions than that country should be held accountable whether for instance it is Russia, or China or India or Pakistan or Jordan or Australia or Canada or the United States or Britain or Spain or Israel etc. So if the United States is accused of committing War Crimes than the United States should be willing as a member of the United Nations to be willing to permit investigations by whatever body would be best able to carry out these investigations. If that means that American citizens whether those individuals held or hold public office or belong to any government department are accused of such crimes they should be investigated and if found guilty that they face the consequences. If President Obama cannot agree to accept that America is not above the law and must submit to the Criminal Court of Justice or other appropriate international body then one has to wonder if the United Nations and International Law or the Geneva Conventions are as the Bush administration claimed are quaint old fashioned set of principles and ideals to which the United States and other countries are not bound then we have to consider that the United Nations like the League of Nations before it is now irrelevant and " a Paper Tiger " to be tossed into the ash heap of history.
So the challenge which President Obama and the world faces especially those Nations which have some lingering faith in the United Nations and International Law is a difficult one do we abandon the rule of law and every nation should just fend for itself and hope that the stronger nations just declare war on weaker nations which it can then conquer. Iraq for instance was a weakened almost defenseless country when the United States invaded under false pretenses leading to the deaths of over a half-million people . The abuses committed by the United States in Iraq and in its war on terror need to be fully investigated and charges laid where necessary. The world hopes for real changes in America's foreign policies so that it is no longer regarded by the world as a Rogue state which has no respect for "The Rule of Law " or for International standards regarding human rights ie Torture, renditions , suspension of He peas Corpus etc.
It is up to President Obama to set the tone for his administration and hopefully proclaim to the the world that America will no longer act as if it were above the law or that it is not bound by International Agreements including the Geneva Conventions. By doing so President Obama can send a clear message to other countries even those who it believes to be its allies that they too must be bound by International Laws and that they cannot just opt out when they feel like it.
Anyway that's my two cents worth for today. This is a difficult time for many of us who want President Obama to do great things and to make real changes in the way America acts in regard to the rest of the world . On the other hand we fear that his task may be too daunting or the resistance by the Status Quo and establishment and those with various special interests may leave Obama hamstrung from early on in his presidency. I am not an American so many of my concerns reflect those of others who are also not Americans so our perspective is somewhat different from the average American. The average American may be more concerned with the financial crisis with keeping their homes and jobs or with an improved medical system etc. That of course is only natural but it is up to those who lead the nation to also take care of the nations foreign relations and its international obligations to international organizations such as the United Nations.
"Forgive and Forget the Crimes of the Bushies? I Don't Think So"
By Paul Krugman, The New York Times. January 19, 2009.
So Mr. Obama should reconsider his apparent decision to let the previous administration get away with crime.
Ed. Note: With powerful establishment figures like Nancy Pelosi now speaking publicly about the possiblility of pursuing the criminal acts of the Bush Administration, it's vital to keep the discussion going.
Last Sunday President-elect Barack Obama was asked whether he would seek an investigation of possible crimes by the Bush administration. "I don't believe that anybody is above the law," he responded, but "we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards."
I'm sorry, but if we don't have an inquest into what happened during the Bush years -- and nearly everyone has taken Mr. Obama's remarks to mean that we won't -- this means that those who hold power are indeed above the law because they don't face any consequences if they abuse their power.
Let's be clear what we're talking about here. It's not just torture and illegal wiretapping, whose perpetrators claim, however implausibly, that they were patriots acting to defend the nation's security. The fact is that the Bush administration's abuses extended from environmental policy to voting rights. And most of the abuses involved using the power of government to reward political friends and punish political enemies.
and so it goes,
GORD.
No comments:
Post a Comment