On the domestic front, I’ve been pretty happy with the Obama administration. It’s impressive that they have accomplished so much good in the face of unwielding nihilistic opposition. They passed the stimulus bill – could have been bigger, could have been better targeted, but they passed it, and used public demand to stop a downward spiral in private demand (see the Blinder-Zandi study noting that without the combined monetary, fiscal, and financial sector interventions, there would be 8.5 million fewer jobs, and GDP would be a whopping 6.5 percent lower). They passed a momentous health care reform bill, which will expand coverage to 32 million more people, end the scandal of widespread rationing by cost, and curb the growth of future health care spending. And they passed the most sweeping set of Wall Street regulations in generations – not perfect, and watered down by dealings with swing Republicans, but significant. Sadly, no action is forthcoming on the all important climate bill, but still, not a bad innings ove rthe past two years. It has certainly lived up to expectations.
But on the foreign front, I’ve been grievously disappointed.
Sure, the torture might have stopped, but the torture regime lives on, and the warrior culture at the top echelons of power has barely diminished. The military commissions – which barely differ from the Bush administrations versions – are at this moment making a travesty of justice. In one case, the judge simply decreed that the sentence be kept secret. But the most egregious case is that of Omar Khadr. Khadr was a 15-year-old boy arrested and tortured by the American invaders of Afghanistan. His crime? He threw a grenade at American soldiers. Now, while I will not condone this violence, surely this can be described as legitimate defense – attacking a purely military target who has invaded your country? It is certainly not terrorism. But it gets far far worse. Here is the ACLU’s Jennifer Turner:
“Khadr, then 15 years old, was taken to Bagram near death, after being shot twice in the back, blinded by shrapnel, and buried in rubble from a bomb blast. He was interrogated within hours, while sedated and handcuffed to a stretcher. He was threatened with gang rape and death if he didn’t cooperate with interrogators. He was hooded and chained with his arms suspended in a cage-like cell, and his primary interrogator was later court-martialed for detainee abuse leading to the death of a detainee. During his subsequent eight-year (so far) detention at Guantánamo, Khadr was subjected to the “frequent flyer” sleep deprivation program and he says he was used as a human mop after he was forced to urinate on himself.”
And today, the military commission judge refused to throw out “evidence” received under this torture. This is the standard of a banana republic. I expected this from Bush-Cheney, but shame on Obama.
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