Not a Big Deal

...only the wholesale betrayal of American values. The New York Daily News reports that military JAGs repeatedly objected to Guantanamo Bay "interrogation procedures" (IE, torture), but were overruled by senior Pentagon officials who "didn't think [it] was a big deal" (link: Balkinization). The Lawyers specifically drew a distinction between "battlefield interrogation methods, where slapping around a prisoner might be justifiable if it immediately saved lives," and the situation in Guantanamo, where the detainees were nowhere near a combat scene and months removed from their capture.

We cannot let this issue drop. The only thing more despicable than this being an issue in the United States is that it doesn't appear that anybody cares. So long as torture isn't on the front page and staring us in the face, Americans prefer to just pretend it isn't happening. But if we aren't willing to throw down the gauntlet at torture, where exactly is the line we "won't cross"?

A little while ago, the Legal Fiction blog wrote that it would support a primary challenge against Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman (D) due to his vote for pro-torture Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Lieberman has done more than virtually any other elected Democrat to try and make the party more formidable on national security. However, when he decides to condone torture as a matter of American policy, it is very hard to argue that he has the moral character to continue to represent us in the halls of congress.