Obama Ignores Torture- By Helen Thomas

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Obama Ignores Torture

By Helen Thomas

July 28, 2009

Secrecy is endemic in all governments. It goes with the turf, especially if their leaders hope to hide illegal or immoral behavior, such as torture of foreign prisoners.

Many Americans heaved a sigh of relief last January when President Barack Obama banned the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It made the administration look more humane than the Bush-Cheney team. But that is not the whole story.

Obama left unaddressed the possibility of torture in secret foreign prisons under our control as in Abu Ghraib in Iraq or Bagram in Afghanistan, not to mention the 'black sites" sponsored by our foreign clients in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Thailand and other countries.

"The United States will not torture," Obama said in his directive. But he has been silent on the question of whether the U.S. would help others do the torturing.

Members of Congress knew a lot about U.S. torture practices. But Republicans loyal to the Bush administration and Democrats, too, played along and kept silent at the horror of it all.

...

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=824669&category=COMMENTARY

[timeforpeace]

1. So where's the outrage? Oh yeah, it's Obama. Apparently consistency is indeed

the hobgoblin of little minds. But then what is hypocrisy?

You go, Helen.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

2. Seems

that the desire is to sweep the dirty truths away.