Could investigating and prosecuting officials for crimes related to war make us less safe? Don leaders have to break the law sometimes in order to defeat terrorism?
Of course it is impossible to answer these questions with absolute certainty. But the sponsors of the petition believe the answer to both questions is “no”: that protecting the country against threats depends primarily on mundane (and legal) law enforcement work rather than granting extraordinary powers to secretive politicians, and that our safety is threatened rather than strengthened by cutbacks in civil liberties that expand state power beyond legal reach and undermine our credibility around the world. For example, former FBI agent Ali Soufan recently testified that torture hindered rather than helped intelligence gathering against Al Qaeda. Another former interrogator has reportedly said that torture by the U.S. “may have led to the death of as many US soldiers as civilians killed in 9/11”. Giving political leaders license to break the law with impunity, or excusing past violations, makes similar violations in the future very likely. A great deal is at stake – namely, whether laws
Related Questions
- Could investigating and prosecuting officials for crimes related to war make us less safe? Don leaders have to break the law sometimes in order to defeat terrorism?
- Why is prosecuting Bush for murder even more critical - and strategically, more achievable -- than prosecuting him for war crimes?
- How did the war crimes effect Israeli officials?"
