Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Obama Leaving Door Open to Prosecutions for Torture

Updated with video below-Obama speaks to the press on the torture memos. Obama worries that this could get so politicized that it hampers national security operations. 
Dick Cheney is calling torture a success. But maybe he'll be getting his due:

Obama doesn't want the agents prosecuted. Nor should they be. They were underlings. If anyone is prosecuted, it needs to be the big guys:
Obama said it will be up to Attorney General Eric Holder to decide whether or not to prosecute the former officials.

"With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more a decision for the attorney general within the parameter of various laws, and I don't want to prejudge that," Obama said during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House.

"There's a host of very complicated issues involved there. As a general deal, I think we should be looking forward and not backward. I do worry about this getting so politicized that we cannot function effectively, and it hampers our ability to carry out critical national security operations."

Obama reiterated his belief that he did not think it is appropriate to prosecute those CIA officials and others who carried out the interrogations in question.

"This has been a difficult chapter in our history and one of [my] tougher decisions," he added. CNN