Obama & Torture (FOLLOWUP)

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/20/obama.cia/index.html

The President had recently cleared up the details about the possible prosecution of CIA officials than engaged in physical interrogation. He has claimed that if their efforts were consistent with the Justice Department's legal advice at the time then there would be not prosecution. He also made a very good move in saying that it is not only a a waste of resources to backtrack and punish government officials for such techniques, it is also a place where he does not want his new administration. He feels that it would further divide the country and that he is very concerned with moving forward. He says that this issue is about turning the page on previous interrogation practices, adhering to our own principles, and allowing the new administration to act in accordance with their new goal of total transparency.

In order to adhere to this, Obama has ordered the release of "Top Secret" government documents from the CIA that outline the limits of our interrogation ability and highlight exactly what was and what was not sanctioned during the Bush years. While this does highlight the Presidents wish to allow people to see what exactly the government is doing, it also allows our enemies the same privilege. It is noble that the President stick to his promise of forcing the government to work under the observation of the people it serves, as this is truly democratic; the issue is that he is sacrificing secrecy in a time of war.

To allow ruthless enemies to know exactly how far we are willing to go is to embolden them and to allow them to see our weaknesses. By allowing our enemies to see our boundaries is to allow them to fight outside of them. Just the very nature of publicly releasing top secret documents that outline our secret military practices shows our inability to effectively defeat our enemy. Obama is quoted as saying that in order to truly beat our enemy, we must adhere to our principles even when it is hard. And while it may be harder to fight in this fashion, it will put us on the better side of history. This envisioned grandeur may make us seem righteous and true, but it also puts our soldiers and citizens at a higher risk as we will ineffectively battle our enemies thus allowing conflict to remain longer than it must.