Category: The Dish

The Betrayal of America

Retired navy general counsel, Alberto Mora, explains what is still at stake in the Bush administration’s abandonment of core American values:

Whatever the ultimate historical judgment, it is established fact that documents justifying and authorizing the abusive treatment of detainees during interrogation were approved and distributed. These authorizations rested on three beliefs: that no law prohibited the application of cruelty; that no law should be adopted that would do so; and that our government could choose to apply the cruelty — or not — as a matter of policy depending on the dictates of perceived military necessity.

The fact that we adopted this policy demonstrates that this war has tested more than our nation’s ability to defend itself. It has tested our response to our fears and the measure of our courage. It has tested our commitment to our most fundamental values and our constitutional principles.

In this war, we have come to a crossroads — much as we did in the events that led to Korematsu : Will we continue to regard the protection and promotion of human dignity as the essence of our national character and purpose, or will we bargain away human and national dignity in return for an additional possible measure of physical security?

As Mora notes, this issue has not gone away.

Guilty

The National Catholic Reporter reflects on its long and ultimately successful campaign to hold Legion of Christ founder, Father Marcial Maciel, responsible for a long history of sexual abuse. Others were responsible as well:

For all of the commendable achievements of Pope John Paul II, his blindness to this cancer within the church and his unwillingness until the last years of his long reign to understand the urgency of the problem will be seen as serious flaws of his tenure. His inaction sent signals that he both tolerated and encouraged the debilitating culture of deceit.

The case of Father Maciel, whose victims ranged from youngsters in his charge to young priests, is the most dramatic example of the late pope’s failure. Vatican officials today explain that John Paul did not have the information with which to judge the case. That’s the very point, however. One can only conclude he failed to listen to the victims and believed for far too long that the scandal was the malicious work of those who opposed the Legion because of its loyalty to him.

Almost all the theocons who defended Maciel maintain radio silence.

The “Israelization” of American Politics

Jonathan Zasloff makes an interesting point here:

US national security politics has become Israelized.

That phrase refers to the old saw about what the Israeli electorate wants from its government: a Labor policy carried out by Likud. Israeli voters recognized that Labor was right; that holding onto the territories was (and is) madness (both for strategic and moral reasons), and that ruling over millions of Arabs was not in Israel’s interest. But they never trusted Labor to actually do it properly without exposing the public to violence. That had much to do with Labor’s rhetoric than anything else. The one exception to this was Yitzhak Rabin, whose gruff manner and record gave him the title of "Mr. Security". (As Labor leader, he never lost an election).

The same thing has happened to the Democrats. The public recognizes that the Democratic approach on Iraq is correct, and that we are going to have get out soon. But they don’t trust Democratic instincts on national security. They would prefer someone who is too willing to use military force to someone who is not willing enough. In short, they might not like George W. Bush, but they would rather have him than Jimmy Carter (who is the real culprit behind the Democratic image, not the Vietnam policy).

In other words, Americans are looking for the equivalent of Kadima. Isn’t McCain the obvious Sharon? And when did the Democrats last have a Rabin?