Eugene Robinson: Obama’s Salvage Operation

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090122_robinson_undoing_bushs_damage/

Obama’s Salvage Operation

Posted on Jan 23, 2009

By Eugene Robinson

snip//

Obama said his actions, taken on his second full day in office, signal that “the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism ... in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals.” Implicit is an acknowledgment that the previous administration’s actions were not consistent with those values and ideals—and here is where Obama needs to go further.

There are many “known unknowns,” to echo Donald Rumsfeld, about the Bush years. We don’t know the full story of the secret offshore CIA prisons where terrorism suspects were held and interrogated. We don’t know the extent of the “rendition” program in which suspects were handed over to cooperative third countries for aggressive and reportedly abusive questioning. We don’t know the full extent of the administration’s warrantless domestic electronic surveillance.

And there are “unknown unknowns.” Given what has been revealed, isn’t it conceivable that the Bush administration took other measures that would curl our hair if they were revealed?

Obama should form an official blue-ribbon panel, some sort of “truth commission,” to investigate Bush’s conduct of his “war on terror” and then report to the American people. The point isn’t to prosecute anyone. The point certainly isn’t to reveal genuine national security secrets whose disclosure would put lives in danger. The point is to know, and to remember.

This nation’s ideals of due process, rule of law, humane interrogation, privacy and governmental openness are not mere embellishments. They are essential to who we are. By disregarding those ideals, the previous administration diminished us all.

A thorough investigation would be controversial and could make it more difficult for Obama to move ahead with his agenda in other areas. But as he said Thursday, we must honor our values “not just when it’s easy, but also when it’s hard.”

[dkf]

1. Yes, we need to know what Bush was up to so that no one will

ever do it again.

[FreakinDJ]

2. agreed - and a Full Investigation of Domestic Spying

and how the information was used