Hillary supported limited torture. Sanders? Never. Ever. nt

Last edited Wed Aug 26, 2015, 09:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Sanders:

“A great nation must be prepared to acknowledge its errors. This report details an ugly chapter in American history during which our leaders and the intelligence community dishonored our nation’s proud traditions,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders. “Of course we must aggressively pursue international terrorists who would do us harm, but we must do so in a way that is consistent with the basic respect for human rights which makes us proud to be Americans.
“The United States must not engage in torture. If we do, in an increasingly brutal world, we lose our moral standing to condemn other nations or groups that engage in uncivilized behavior,” the senator added.

Hillary

In Dec. 2014, virtually her first statements on torture came after the CIA torture report was released and all she has to say is:

"Today we can say again in a loud and clear voice, the United States should never condone or practice torture anywhere in the world,” Clinton said.

"That should be absolutely clear as a matter of both policy and law, including our international treaty obligations, and if that requires new legislation, then Congress should work with President Obama to quickly enact it and it shouldn't be an issue of partisan politics," Clinton said of eliminating the use of torture techniques.

"If Kennedy were alive, he would say that it is "possible to keep us safe from terrorism and reduce crime and violence without relying on torture abroad or unnecessary force or excessive incarceration at home," she said.

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Aside from the obvious differences in these two quotes in terms of levels of disgust, one statement acknowledges the shame brought on our country by what was done. The other one is a "don't look back, don't acknowledge" statement. Hillary treats the Senate Report as if it is an unwelcome visitor to the dinner table bringing bad news. She is also well-known for her belief that the torturers should not have faced prosecution since they were "following orders" (google it folks, its true).

In 2007, she was asked about the "ticking time bomb" scenario, in which you've captured the terrorist and don't have time for a normal interrogation, and said that there is a place for what she called "severity," in a conversation that included mentioning water-boarding, hypothermia, and other techniques commonly described as torture.

"I have said that those are very rare but if they occur there has to be some lawful authority for pursuing that," she responded. "Again, I think the President has to take responsibility. There has to be some check and balance, some reporting. I don't mind if it's reporting in a top secret context. But that shouldn't be the tail that wags the dog, that should be the exception to the rule."

But for Sanders, and O'Malley for example, you will see no waffling or testing focus groups for their ethical position on torture. This is meaningful. Again, a sign, to ignore or say "Wait a minute... how can you WAFFLE on something like torture if you are a thoughtful and ethical person?"