The Bush Administration, Human Rights, and a Culture of Torture

One of Obama’s first acts as president was to sign an executive order, mandating the closure of Guantanmo Bay within a year. Clearly this has not yet happened. Questions remain about where to place the prisoners, and the culpability of American officials upon release. Additionally, fears of housing dangerous terrorists have led many states to rejecting the possibility of accepting prisoners. In principle at least, Obama continues to agree with the Conyers report findings that, “…detainees accused of hostile conduct should, as a general matter, be charged with federal offenses and tried in the Unite States courts.”43 While Osama clearly deserves life in prison or death, remarks by Holder to congress clearly demonstrate how the mindset established after 9/11 has become entrenched. The attorney General has said that we will only be reading Osama his rights to a dead corpse. The rule of law should be above desires for revenge, no matter how strong the feelings are.

The Obama administration for its part has now been placed in the unenviable position of acknowledging the past, while focusing on the future. Those on the left want the Bush administration held accountable. Progressives think charges should be brought against those who authorized or committed crimes. Republicans on the other hand are adamantly against what they see as vindictive retribution. The other problem is that power gained is not power easily taken away. Presidents have historically been reluctant to reduce power that they have accrued, regardless of ideology. Obama himself has been subject to criticism that he is following too closely in the mold of the Bush administration. Many of the campaign promises have yet to be implemented, particularly regarding detention, and executive authority.

Looking back at the last decade in America shows both how far we have come, and how far we have to go. The country has always faced numerous challenges to national security. During the civil war Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus. During World War Two Roosevelt approved plans for interring Japanese heritage American citizens in detainment camps. Scott Matheson describes the Bush response thusly, “In fact, the growth of judicially recognized civil liberties since World War Two has established stronger protections against significant infringement during wartime. But recent experience shows that new threats to security can bring new threats to liberty.”44 So far Obama has made clear he has no intention of dredging up the past. He has said he wants to focus on closing Guantanamo Bay and making sure the abuses that happened under Bush never happen again. At some point though, America will need to confront its own culture of torture. 9/11 was a deeply traumatic event for the country. But it did not destroy us. Al-Qaeda does not pose an existential threat to America. Is the acceptance of a culture of torture worth what America stands for? As long as the war on terror lasts, questions like this will be asked and only the American people themselves will be able to answer.

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Bibliography

Bartlett, Bruce. The Cost of War. (Forbes.com: November 26, 2009) http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/25/shared-sacrifice-war-taxes-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html, Accessed April 7, 2010

Brown, Cynthia. Lost Liberties: Ashcroft and the Assault on Personal Freedom. (New York: The New Press, 2003.) 

Chapman, Steve. "Rationalizing Torture." Reason Magazine. 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://reason.com/archives/2009/08/27/rationalizing-torture>.

Conyers, John. Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush : House Committee on the Judiciary Majority Staff Report to Chairman John C.Conyers, Jr. (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2009.)

Crotty, William. The Politics of Terror: The U.S. Response to 9/11. (Boston: northeastern University Press, 2004.)

Green, Adam. Normalizing Torture on 24. (Nytimes.com: 22 May 2005) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/arts/television/22gree.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1, Accessed April 7, 2010

Hooks, Gregory, and Clayton Mosher. "Outrages against Personal Dignity: Rationalizing Abuse and Torture in the War on Terror." Social Forces 83.4 (2005): 1627-645. JStore. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. http:/http://www.jstor.org

Honigsberg, Peter. Our Nation unhinged. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009)

Knowles, David. "Poll Finds Americans Favor Waterboarding Christmas Day Terror Suspect - AOL News." AOL News. Dec. 2009. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. <http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/poll-finds-americans-favor-waterboarding-christmas-day-terror-suspect/19299536>.

Matheson, Scott. Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009.)

Media Matters, Fox News greets alleged torture with antics. April 23, 2009 http://mediamatters.org/research/200904230029

Otterman, Michael. American Torture. (London: Pluto Press, 2007)

Reid, Tim. "George W. Bush 'knew Guantánamo Prisoners Were Innocent'". Times Online. 9 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7092435.ece

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1.) John Conyers. Reigning in the Imperial Presidency (New York, Skyhorse Publishing, 2009) 72

2.) Scott Matheson. Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2009)

3.) William Crotty. The Politics of Terror (Boston, Northeastern University Press, 2004) X

4.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 28

5.) Crotty, The Politics of Terror, 120

6.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 29

7.) Crotty, The Politics of Terror, X

8.) Bruce Bartlett, The Cost of War, Forbes.com

9.) Brown, Lost Liberties, 87

10.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 74

11.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 76

12.) Peter Honigsberg, Our Nation Unhinged (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2009) 25

13.) Honigsberg, Our Nation Unhinged, 26

14.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 113

15.) Michael Otterman. American Torture (London, Pluto Press, 2007) 131

16.) Hooks, Outrages against Personal Dignity: Rationalizing Abuse and Torture in the War on Terror, 1628 

17.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 138

18.) Otterman, American Torture, 113

19.) Otterman, American Torture, 121

20.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 138

21.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 138

22.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 139

23.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 139

24.) Ottermn, American Torture, 122

25.) Ottermn, American Torture, 122

26.) Matheson, Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times, 108

27.) Crotty, The Politics of Terror, 184

28.) Matheson, Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times, 110

29.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 156

30.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 27

31.) Adam Green, Normalizing Torture on 24, NYtimes.com

32.) Media Matters, Fox News greets alleged torture with antics, mediamatters.com 

33.) Adam Green, Normalizing Torture on 24, NYtimes.com

34.) Crotty, The Politics of Terror, 173

35.) Crotty, The Politics of Terror, 79

36.) Crotty, The Politics of Terror, 178

37.) Knowles, Americans Favor Waterboarding, AOL News

38.) Reid, George W. Bush 'knew Guantánamo prisoners were innocent', timesonline.uk

39.) Chapman, Rationalizing Torture, Reason Magazine

40.) Chapman, Rationalizing Torture, Reason Magazine

41.) Ottermn, American Torture, 131

42.) Chapman, Rationalizing Torture, Reason Magazine

43.) Conyers, Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, 277

44.) Matheson, Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times, 85