Power with no Limits

You, like me, may be asking the question: how could America possibly resort to torturing in this day and age? Such an advanced nation like ours should be a leader in morality in foreign policy. During the last administration, measures were taken to outlaw torturing and to restore honest policies. However, those in the most powerful positions like president, vice-president, CIA leaders, and those in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Council (OLC) have reached out beyond their powers to bypass anti-torture measures.


The Four Freedoms Under Siege by Marcus Raskin and Robert Spero discusses the measures taken by the Bush II administration to torture. They ignored both the Geneva Conventions and our Constitution on the grounds of urgency and necessity. Also, “after Bush signed the Defense Appropriations Bill¬- which included the McCain Amendment prohibiting ‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of persons under custody or control of the United States government’- Bush quietly issued a ‘signing statement’ that in effect said he could interpret the new law, as he had, with restrictive signing statements on the Patriot Act, negating any limits to his power.” His administration lawyers assured him that he was not bound to any international treaty or federal law because he was the commander in chief.

In addition to this, the administration ignored rulings by the Supreme Court regarding torture. Important policies such as habeas corpus were suspended during this time for those in US custody. These actions have not gone unnoticed thankfully but little has been done to punish those responsible and bring attention to these issues. Eric Holder’s efforts are an excellent first step toward restoring justice and the American name.