Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Al Gore On Torture


A brief departure from Georgia politics.

Andrew Sullivan notes a particular section in Al Gore's new book "The Assault On Reason".

For the first time in American history, the Executive Branch of our government has not only condoned but actively promoted the treatment of captives in wartime that clearly involves torture, thus overturning a prohibition established by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War...It is too easy — and too partisan — to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes. We have a Congress. We have an independent judiciary. We have checks and balances. We are a nation of laws. We have free speech. We have a free press. Have they all failed us? Why has America's public discourse become less focused and clear, less reasoned?
I did not vote for Gore in 2000 although if I had a do-over, I probably would. However, I agree with Andrew that Gore freed of the merciless grind of electoral politics has become a much more powerful voice.

Some hope he runs in 2008. I certainly understand the seductive reasoning, but I am reaching the conclusion that I hope he does not.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I didn't vote for him (or Dubya) either, and probably wouldn't do so if I had another chance. I'll probably go Libertarian again.

As far as torture goes, I'm convinced that the administration doesn't give a sh*t about using it to get information. Given the record number of executions approved by Dubya and Gonzalez in Texas, including many cases that should have been thrown out because of drunk and/or incompetent public defenders, I'm convinced that the only reason they want to torture suspected terrorists is to punish them. This administration is all about vengeance, not justice.