Dave Lindorff: Sen. Leahy's and Rep. Conyers' Truth and Reconciliation Plan Could Work but…
Submitted by BuzzFlash on Tue, 02/10/2009 -
The similar calls by Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and House Judiciary Chair Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the crimes of the Bush/Cheney administration are potentially a terrible idea, but one that could turn out to be an excellent one,
if handled correctly................
The beauty of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is that it can truly be presented as an effort to root out a problem and solve it, without there having to be a sense of retribution and political division. Any political contentiousness would be the result of witnesses' refusal to participate, or to come clean, not of the effort to elicit the truth.
The other advantage of the commission approach to dealing with the wrongdoing and unconstitutional actions and usurpations of power by the executive branch over the past eight years is that it would encourage many lower-level administration officials who may have participated in criminal behavior or conspiracies to come forward and clear themselves by telling the truth, making the job of prosecuting higher-ups much easier.
So I say
a cautious yes to Leahy's and Conyers' initiative, but only with the proviso that any commission they propose be linked to a plan to prosecute liars and those who refuse to testify if called.more at:
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/lindorff/199
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
