#Blog: “The ‘ACCIDENTAL’ Statesman..” By Rhett E. Column, #CIAtorturereport, #AXJ, #SWN

Former President of the United States of America, Harry S. Truman…

“..which the White House accidentally emailed to an Associated Press reporter…” — The White House Report on Torture, “Bush-era tactics…”… has been leaked?!?!

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — I just finished reading an article from MSN News Services, via Reuters and the AP on the so-called Bush-era torture programs/enhanced interrogation techniques during the early days of the War on Terror and I must say I am experiencing and have been experiencing a myriad of emotions, a veritable roller coaster ride of feelings on this pending report for the last two weeks.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what, respectfully, Mr. Obama & Co. are hiding? Why the need to delay, and deny the American people, their right to know? Additionally why the need to provide cover for the Intelligence Community? Finally why, in this article I read, was a pending report from out of the White House, “accidentally emailed” to an Associated Press reporter?

These are but some of the many questions some of the many points of emotion I have been wrestling with, and again, for the last two weeks.

And so it goes…

I learned something this week and I also want to correct, publicly now, a record of standing I have long-held against a former President of these United States, Dwight Eisenhower. I contended that it was former President Eisenhower who started the C.I.A., it was not. It was in fact Harry Truman who started the C.I.A., BUT and his later years he, like so many of us do, had a change of heart on all things Central Intelligence Agency. Here, is where the change of heart began.

And so it goes…

I said all that to say this. The White House, more importantly this President, Barack H. Obama, II., and the honorable, had better come clean. He has but two whole handfuls of months left in his presidency to serve. He has a real opportunity. A real chance to level the playing field to correct the record as it were for the good of all mankind. To become something far more than what I have titled him under this #blogpost as, an ‘ACCIDENTAL’ Statesman.

President Barack H. Obama, II, 2012 Democratic National Convention…

“I’ve studied the Constitution as a student, I’ve taught it as a teacher, I’ve been bound by it as a lawyer and a legislator. I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief, and as a citizen, I know that we must never, ever, turn our back on its enduring principles for expedience sake.” — President Obama, 2009 Speech on National Security

 

THIS PRESIDENT, needs to hear from the American people TODAY on this vitally important issue.  He needs to be reminded of the words, the oath he took on behalf of the American people! To stand up for the Rule of Law and to adhere, strictly and always, to its concepts, precepts and edicts. Without fail or exception. Because and forthwith ,”the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one in this case.” Bottom line.

Because, and I will close with this. Comments such as these from online news articles, though good and very informative, WILL NOT suffice,

“The report does not draw the legal conclusion that the CIA’s actions constituted torture, though it makes clear that in some cases they amounted to torture by a common definition, two people who have read the report said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the still-classified document publicly by name.

The Senate report, the State Department proposes to say, “leaves no doubt that the methods used to extract information from some terrorist suspects caused profound pain, suffering and humiliation. It also leaves no doubt that the harm caused by the use of these techniques outweighed any potential benefit.”

Those methods included slapping, humiliation, exposure to cold, sleep deprivation and the near-drowning technique known as waterboarding.

The White House document is significant because it also reveals some of the State Department’s concerns about how the CIA’s tactics will be portrayed around the world.”

 

COMMENTS like these, for me at least, add up to duck and cover, run and hide, that age-old game of cat and mouse, that has been played throughout history both time and memorial by our fathers, grandfathers and forebears. The Cold War is over folks!

Yet Barack Obama, it appears wants to do nothing more than allow the Intelligence Community to play with the lives, fortunes and sacred honors of We The American People. It would appear to me, in the very least, that ,his attitude and actions of late, the Constitutional Law Professor has an obligatory disdain for the Rule of Law. It says, by his actions, that the Intelligence Community could give a fat rat’s rectum less about the Rule of Law OR that they only care about the Rule of Law when it is more than conveniently necessary for them to do so.

Such an attitude, such an approach toward governance and toward the everyday people who elected him to high office amounts to what Hollywood calls, “creative license”. And creative license will not cut it Mr. President! Respectfully.

Peace.

–Rhett.

 

#Blog: “Mr. President, “TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!”…” By Rhett E. Column, #SWN #AXJ

Any day now President Barack Obama will be releasing a formal report on the ‘Bush-era’ C.I.A. torture memo. But already ‘push back’ looms long and large from within and out of the Intelligence Community. They do not want President Obama to release a report that just may paint them and in fact certain members of the Bush Administration in an unfavorable light.

And they have done and will continue to do all they can to keep the president from releasing that report in full, unmolested and unrequited. Such is disturbing. Makes one wonder or at least stop for a minute and ask yourself, “What are they hiding?”  “Why the secrecy?”

Believe it or not a great opportunity has been presented to this president, laid really, on his door step. The chance to tell-all, come clean or at least wipe the slate clean for, and of all people, the Intelligence Community itself.

You see the Intel community ,since Harry Truman was President, has always wanted to be the hero, the savior of the free world. To be painted in a positive a light as possible. Someone or at the very least some thing that never ever does a darn thing wrong. Bottom line.

Try as they may, try as a setting President might though, the Intelligence Community, the C.I.A., period, is anything but a hero to all and most certainly not a true friend to the law.

Besides if they were such the heroes as they wish to be portrayed it would be proven out both time and memorial ,in the body of their work. You would find no holes in the spying process. No need for secrecy. No need for subterfuge. Just plain, good ole fashioned excellent police work all the way around. Above board, and most certainly above reproach. There would never ever be the need for such a report to be released by the White House, by the Office of the President. No need for a near raping of Congressional staffers by C.I.A. people just because they turned a computer on.

And so it goes….

To that end I would like to invite and encourage you all to encourage the President to release this report unredacted. No freckles. No frills. No fringes. Just the plain truth of the matter. If it hurts the Bush Administration it hurts them. If it hurts the Intelligence Community it hurts it. Consequences. Repercussions. The like. Be damned.

You can leave your comments for the President here. And in so doing tell him, per the Subject Selection of Civil Rights, to release the C.I.A. report completely unredacted.

If you don’t wish to write him on-line he does have a snail mail address which can be found here. Or call and leave a voice mail message.

This is too important. To critical an issue to just let go to the way side. Just let it slide by. Additionally pressure needs to be brought to bear with the United States Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence. This Committee, Chaired by United States Senator Dianne G.B. Feinstein, Democrat-California needs to hear from US as well. They need to be encouraged, greatly, to encourage President Obama to release that report. To get some backbone on behalf of the American people. To respect the right of privacy.

And so it goes….

The Intelligence Community has gotten away with murder for to long now! The president, as I said, has been handed a real opportunity. Laid firmly and squarely at his feet by a corrupt and inept police state that is hell-bent on destroying the last vestiges of a true and decent society.

Unless and until our government miners stand up to them, especially when and where we ourselves cannot this egregious activity will persist. Bottom line.

Call the President. Call the U.S. Capitol. Speak to your Congressional Representative and speak to the staff for the Senate Intelligence Committee and tell them to RELEASE THAT REPORT UNREDACTED. Thank you.

Peace.

–Rhett.