So the President stands up there and for the first time presents tangible -- though unverifiable -- evidence that his illegal and immoral programs have borne fruit, and that this has allowed the government to foil terrorist plots in the making.
OK. It's nice to be treated like a thinking adult once in a while at least.
And I will say that the even though the President's case is relatively thin (of all the people captured, rendered, imprisoned, and virtually tortured, he only presented one chain of events to support his claims), it was still enough to give me pause for thought.
And here's what I think:
I am willing to concede that an illegal program of rendition, detention in foreign nations with dubious human rights records, and interrogation with techniques that skirt the meaning of the law has yielded results.
It may even be effective.
But that still doesn't make it right.
I understand perfectly that I may simply be wrong about the level of threat that we face in international terrorism. I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again. But here's the thing: if my government pursues policies that I believe are moral but that prove less effective and I die in a terrorist attack, I will at least die a free man. If my government pursues effective but immoral policies and I die of old age, I will have died in chains.
Therein lies the difference. My freedom, your freedom, our freedom is important enough to me that I will die for it. But what value is my life if I must sell myself into bondage in order to keep it?
Posted by cerebus at September 7, 2006 10:34 PM