Law & Order...

Mr.Atos

Going to PoliPundit by way of Dr. Sanity, one comes across a notably absurd statement by San Francisco Bay Area Demo-Congresswoman, Ellen Tauscher

You know, look, I didn’t go to law school but I have watched Law & Order for ten years, and I do believe we have the rule of law that we are not only, uh, adhering to in the United States as a very strong principle, but we’re also trying to, by the way, interject it around the world. And we need to stand for it. And not only because it’s morally right but because we have our own people at risk if they were captured …

Do let's ignor for a moment the "Law&Order" referential absurdity, in deference to what we have already established about the show and its writers. This statement of Rep. Tauscher is even more revealing...

"...we have the rule of law that we are not only, uh, adhering to in the United States as a very strong principle, but we’re also trying to, by the way, interject it around the world. "

Excuse me Rep. Tauscher, but I would presume that as an intelligent and informed lawmaker, you might recognize the fundamental error of that statement. Freedom, you see, is not derived from a principle of 'The Law." The Principle IS freedom as enunciated by the Declaration of Independence , and and it informs The Law as rendered by the Constitution of the United States in order to promote Order. The Principal that must first be exported is Freedom as a precept. The concept of Law can only follow in its wake and is, in fact, meaningless in its absence.

Try reading one of those documents instead of watching TV.

It seems that Rep. Tauscher's understanding of military tactics and practices is as questionable as her comprehension of fundamental principles. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee member, Representative Tauscher made a recent visit to Guantanamo as part of a 15-member bipartisan House group, reports the San Fransisco Chronicle. She found no evidence of torture or abuse during her visit, suggesting therefore, that improvements had been made...

"My belief is we are running a facility at Guantanamo that has no unlawful activities,'' the Walnut Creek Democrat said Monday after returning from a seven-hour visit Saturday to the prison at the U.S. Navy base. But she said that improvement over widely reported abuses at the prison probably has come about because questionable activities have been moved elsewhere.

and atrocities obviously exported...

"These things aren't happening at Guantanamo because it's gotten too hot for them,'' she said, referring to U.S. authorities responsible for interrogating recalcitrant al Qaeda terrorism suspects captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere."

Note the third personal plural reference to, "Them." Is it possible, Rep. Tauscher that 'these things' of which you speak, were never being done by "Us" at all. Perhaps she has been watching too much T.V. in this respect as well, believing herself to be the Geneva convention representative at Stalag 17 appearing just in time for the dispersal of mothball flavored blankets and the hamhockless lunch stew. She might review, instead her own Committee's briefings from time to time; especially those concerning Rendition, since she is so concerned about what she did not see at GITMO:

"I'm still troubled by press reports of this new thing they're doing that's outside the scope and reach of the law,'' said Tauscher, a House Armed Services Committee member who made her visit to Guantanamo as part of a 15- member bipartisan House group.

Tauscher said the reports of the renditions, along with earlier stories about mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, have undermined the U.S. effort in the war on terrorism. She said that although dozens of prisoners have been released from Guantanamo, it's time for the United States to allow the remaining Guantanamo prisoners their day in court.

The "New Tactic" of Rendition, as Michael Ledeen pointed out back in January (HT. Belmont Club) is actually an old tactic developed and used by the Clinton Administration.

the most controversial and ethically questionable method of all was developed during the Clinton administration in direct response to orders that came directly from the White House. "Rendition" was a Clinton creation, and was approved by Clinton's lawyers, with no apparent cries of pain either from the Justice Department or from anyone in Congressional "oversight" committees.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Tauscher is certainly in posession of the knowledge of these facts when expressing her criticism of this administration's "new" interrogation tactics. Is she being deliberately deceptive? ... or could she really be that stupid?

My guess is selective indignation with a slathering of hypocrisy. Perhaps there is a sprinkle of stupidity given that she spends her time watching T.V.

Is it possible, Representative Tauscher, the ruthless contracted interrogators with which you and the San Fransisco Chronicle are concerned, are simply a fence away manning a Cuban gulag in that '... country where torture allegedly is a common questioning tactic?' If so, we'll certainly never know about it.

She further notes that,

"Guantanamo has become a lightning rod, a rallying point, for people committed to harming Americans.''

Indeed. Guantanamo has become a rallying point for people committed to harming Americans. Consider yourself included, Rep. Tauscher.

Update...
Over the watercooler today, Dueler makes a great point after reading this post. representative Tauscher goes to GITMO on behalf of her concerns about torture and prisoner abuse on the order of Pol Pot, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin according to her Senate Colleagues. She finds no evidence of it, and concludes that those operations have been moved elsewhere. Dueler says, 'Could it be that the accusations were a complete fabrication?'

Sure! Most likely. But, given a congruent situation, Democrats believe that no WMD threat existed in Iraq. Could those weapons have existed and been moved elsewhere (say to Syria) prior to the invasion? No! Absolutely absurd! Of course there wasn't.

Well, could it be that there has been no torture and abuse at GITMO? No! Absolutely absurd! Of course there was.

Given the choice of the benefit of a doubt. Democrats like Tauscher are willing to extend those benefits to world butchers, and this nation's enemies. But, the condemnation of guilt is presumed where America's precious defenders are concerned, even when the evidence to support it is nowhere to be found.