Legal Commentary

Despotism in Action

By TChris

This revelation is unsurprising:

The Central Intelligence Agency secretly detained a suspected member of Al Qaeda for at least six months beginning last summer as part of a program in which C.I.A. officers have been authorized by President Bush to use harsh interrogation techniques, American officials said Friday. ... The C.I.A. emptied its secret prisons in the fall of 2006, when it moved 14 prisoners to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but made clear that the facilities could be used in the future to house high-level terrorism suspects.

How is it possible that a country founded on the belief that individuals must be protected from the unreviewable actions of a powerful government could condone clandestine confinement in secret prisons? Despotism in action:

Mr. Bush has defended the use of the secret prisons as a vital tool in American counterterrorism efforts, and last July he signed an executive order that formally reiterated the C.I.A.’s authority to use interrogation techniques more coercive than those permitted by the Pentagon.

It may be extreme but not entirely unfair to make this comparison.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 15, 2008 (boomark / email).