American Hypocrisy

In an article at The American Conservative titled “Gina Haspel: As If Nuremberg Never Happened”, Peter Van Buren whinges:

Nothing will say more about who we are, across three American administrations—one that demanded torture, one that covered it up, and one that seeks to promote its bloody participants—than whether Gina Haspel becomes director of the CIA.

Haspel oversaw the torture of human beings in Thailand as the chief of a CIA black site in 2002. Since then, she’s worked her way up to deputy director at the CIA. With current director Mike Pompeo slated to move to Foggy Bottom, President Donald Trump has proposed Haspel as the Agency’s new head.

The decisions of the Nuremberg trials were victor’s justice as many, especially the Germans, complained at the time. U. S. law has never accepted their findings.

My own views, repeated many times here, is that the U. S. should not torture and should prosecute it when revealed. We should also not enter into treaties to which we do not intend to adhere. It is completely unsurprising that nobody, whether friend, enemy, or frenemy, believes us.