Accidental Blogger

The loudest support for the unjust Iraq war came from right wing draft dodgers and armchair warriors. Now that Bush-Cheney's torture memos are under scrutiny, some supporters of illegal methods of interrogation are declaring that the decision to define the nature and the morality of torture should be left to non-combatant bureaucrats and not those who have faced the ordeal themselves. Boggles the rational mind but here is a conversation between a couple of commentators on Fox News radio:

ANDREW NAPOLITANO (co-host): You may not know the name unless you live in California. Jay Bybee was a professional researcher for the Justice Department when he authored the principal of — the main one — of the torture memos.

President Bush awarded him by appointing him to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. That's the level of appellate court just below the Supreme Court. He was appointed to the 9th Circuit, which covers the western third of the United States.

There's a lot of pressure on Jay Bybee — on Judge Bybee, now, because these memoranda, which obviously were not known about under — during the time of his confirmation came — came out.

Here's what John McCain had to say about it yesterday.

JOHN McCAIN http://clip: A resignation would be a decision he would have to make on his own, but he falls into the same category as everybody else as far as giving very bad advice and misinterpreting fundamentally what the United States is all about, much less things like the Geneva Conventions.

Plus, under President Reagan, we signed a agreement against torture. We're in violation of that.

BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Oh, come on. Number one, we all know John McCain is not a lawyer; this guy is. Number two, Judge, you knew at that time, this is —

NAPOLITANO: This is your guy, John McCain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, now. Come on.

KILMEADE: No, he's not my guy. I like John McCain. I respect him. But there's a lot of issues I don't understand. Plus, he should not be allowed to talk on torture because he is clearly somebody who went through unspeakable pain and punishment —

NAPOLITANO: You mean, he shouldn't be allowed to talk — he has an opinion like everybody else. He represents the state of Arizona.

KILMEADE: But he was tortured. He was tortured. And —

NAPOLITANO: Therefore, his views on torture are —

KILMEADE: — are skewed.

NAPOLITANO: — irrelevant because of what happened —

KILMEADE: — are skewed.

NAPOLITANO: — in 'nam? I think his views are particularly telling because he's been through this kind of thing.

KILMEADE: But what do you think he's going to be — pro-torture —

NAPOLITANO: No.

KILMEADE: — after he's been through it?

NAPOLITANO: Of course, he's not going to be pro-torture.

KILMEADE: And plus, I don't think this is torture. And they don't subscribe to the Geneva Conventions. We had this debate in 2002. You were on our set — you were on constantly saying, "Look, they don't — right — the way the courts look at it right now, they do not fall under the Geneva Conventions." And that was what they were going under.

NAPOLITANO: I never said they didn't fall under the Geneva Conventions.