Tired of asanine blowhards muddling our political discourse? Had your fill of torture apologists and paranoid rants about doctor death squads? See Der Spiegel for a German media roundup on US politics.
From Süddeutsche Zeitung:
The Republicans are prepared to do everything they can to damage Obama. They want one thing: To see the president fail. That’s why they are pushing a fundamentalist opposition against any health care reform, despite the fact that the conservatives realize how urgently this is required. If one follows the weird debate about this reform, it becomes clear just what the US faces in the event of investigations and even trials of CIA agents.
The Republicans will attempt to recreate an atmosphere of collective hysteria similar to that which followed the 2001 attacks. Back then the fear of another terrorist attack prevented all sensible thoughts. Concerns about the rule of law were pushed to the side. The Republicans will accuse Obama of putting the country’s security in jeopardy.
Nevertheless, there can be no alternative to shedding light on the events in the CIA jails. What happened there was simply wrong and not in tune with the American principles of the rule of law and with the country’s deeply rooted awareness of human dignity. The logical consequence of this investigation would be that those who allowed, justified or even ordered abuse and torture would be brought to justice. It was George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who are to blame for the fact that America lost its decency and its reputation.
From The Financial Times Deutschland:
…it seems neither necessary nor effective to take too much heed of the sensitivities of the Republican camp. Important decisions in the fight against the economic crisis have already been made. And the Republicans’ aggressive and populist campaign against Obama’s healthcare reform has broken any bipartisan consensus.
The president should now concentrate on reconciling his disappointed supporters. Obama’s new direction would be more credible if he also made responsible those in the previous administration who ordered the questionable interrogation methods. And if he were to make the investigation into allegation of torture a top priority, rather than hiding behind his attorney general.
From Die Tageszeitung:
The pressure on Obama is now growing. It is disillusioning to see that he only called on an independent investigator after the CIA’s gruesome deeds … became public. In the name of the United States, people were tortured and even threatened with the murder and rape of their relatives. ‘Unbelievable’ is the likely first reaction. Particularly when one hears how Dick Cheney coolly defends these excesses right up until today.
Upon calmer reflection, however, it is less surprising that something like this could happen in the privatized politics of the Bush administration. Set free from democratic controls and driven by a greed for profits, a system could establish itself in which the humanitarian principles played no role at all.
Whether Obama likes it or not as US president he carries the responsibility for his country not just today and tomorrow but also during its recent past. And that is why he must expose the CIA crimes rigorously. And he has to hold those responsible accountable even if they belong to his own political class. If Obama is serious about a new beginning then he must do everything to make sure that Cheney, who was after all the brains behind the horror, is brought to justice.
