22 April 2009
Blaming the Lawyers
President Obama has relieved CIA operatives from investigation of their use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspects following the 9/11 attack. He also has refrained from absolving the lawyers who formulated the justification of the use of those techniques by demonstrating their legality. Holding the lawyers accountable for the policy that the formulation justified, however, is tantamount to attributing the Reagan Administration’s actions in the Iran-Contra affair to the clever machinations of Oliver North, or the invasion of Iraq to David Frum, the writer of Bush’s “axis of evil” phrase.
The executive responsible for reprehensible acts will always rely on the most convincing arguments in order to rationalize them. Regardless of his morals, the better he is at making executive decisions, the more likely it is that he will select skillful lawyers to formulate those arguments. It is not certain who that executive person was in the case of the “enhanced interrogation techniques”--George Bush, Dick Cheney, or a number of other influential members of their or previous federal administrations. It is not likely, on the other hand, that any of the lawyers who have been named as formulators of the justification were in a position to force adoption of the policy to use those techniques. It is not the sharpener of the axe who is to blame for the wrongful execution--not even the executioner.
The Obama Administration must face frankly the truth that our country has been governed in the past in ways that have allowed violation of our people’s fundamental principles. He should call on the country to hold to account the democratically elected leaders under whose charge those violations occurred and/or admit our common error in entrusting them with leadership as we resolve to prevent such occurrences in the future. Without taking one or both of these steps, blaming the lawyers won’t prevent similar crimes in the future.
In our nation of laws, lawyers will always find a legal way to pursue our objectives, whether or not they are morally defensible. We must all independently be sure that those objectives, and the methods used to pursue them, are consistent with our values and beliefs.
President Obama has relieved CIA operatives from investigation of their use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspects following the 9/11 attack. He also has refrained from absolving the lawyers who formulated the justification of the use of those techniques by demonstrating their legality. Holding the lawyers accountable for the policy that the formulation justified, however, is tantamount to attributing the Reagan Administration’s actions in the Iran-Contra affair to the clever machinations of Oliver North, or the invasion of Iraq to David Frum, the writer of Bush’s “axis of evil” phrase.
The executive responsible for reprehensible acts will always rely on the most convincing arguments in order to rationalize them. Regardless of his morals, the better he is at making executive decisions, the more likely it is that he will select skillful lawyers to formulate those arguments. It is not certain who that executive person was in the case of the “enhanced interrogation techniques”--George Bush, Dick Cheney, or a number of other influential members of their or previous federal administrations. It is not likely, on the other hand, that any of the lawyers who have been named as formulators of the justification were in a position to force adoption of the policy to use those techniques. It is not the sharpener of the axe who is to blame for the wrongful execution--not even the executioner.
The Obama Administration must face frankly the truth that our country has been governed in the past in ways that have allowed violation of our people’s fundamental principles. He should call on the country to hold to account the democratically elected leaders under whose charge those violations occurred and/or admit our common error in entrusting them with leadership as we resolve to prevent such occurrences in the future. Without taking one or both of these steps, blaming the lawyers won’t prevent similar crimes in the future.
In our nation of laws, lawyers will always find a legal way to pursue our objectives, whether or not they are morally defensible. We must all independently be sure that those objectives, and the methods used to pursue them, are consistent with our values and beliefs.
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