Hillary Clinton – surprise! – has said not a word about the torture report since yesterday. She’s on record supporting publication of the report and against prosecuting anyone for war crimes, but hasn’t uttered a peep since the damning evidence was laid out for all to see:
In her memoir about her time helming State, “Hard Choices,” Clinton adds: “There was no denying that our country’s approach to human rights had gotten somewhat out of balance” after the Bush administration. She also praised Obama’s order “prohibiting the use of torture or official cruelty,” using the term the Bush administration refused to use for the harsh interrogation tactics.
Then there is Rand Paul, famous libertarian. We have just read a report that shows that the US government tortured 26 innocent people – about as deep an attack on human liberty as can be conceived. And, so far, he has nothing to say. These individuals are almost as cowardly as our sad, defensive, equivocating excuse for a president at a moment when we need clarity and courage.
Update: Rand Paul did comment today, caught by a reporter:
As he strolled to his Senate office, Paul declined to characterize the report as an attack on Bush like so many of his colleagues.
Instead the Kentucky senator, who’s attempting to chart a less interventionist course for the GOP as he mulls a presidential run, expressed mixed feelings on the report’s release and what it says about the United States — a sharp break from his Kentucky colleague McConnell, who blasted Democrats’ work as “ideologically motivated.”
“It’s important that people take a stand and representatives take a stand on whether they believe torture should be allowed. I think we should not have torture,” Paul said. “Transparency is mostly good for government. The only thing I would question is whether or not the actual details, the gruesomeness of the details, will be beneficial or inflammatory.”
Update from a reader:
It has been 24 hours since publication of the Senate’s report. Your visceral reaction to publications and politicians not responding to the report on your time line is unfair and obnoxious. This is an important document which requires a thoughtful, sober response. Everyone should be thankful that, for example, two prime candidates for president aren’t running their mouth without thinking, which is what a 24 hour turnaround would be in this situation. Not everyone runs on a blogger schedule.
(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty)
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