Obama Resisting Push for Interrogation Panel

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/us/politics/24cong.html?scp=1&sq=Obama%20Resisting%20Push%20for%20Interrogation%20Panel&st=Search

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 8:39 AM
Subject: re: Obama Resisting Push for Interrogation Panel
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   In 1989, the United States signed and ratified the UN Protocols on Torture. If president Obama finds that complying with this treaty by investigating and prosecuting torture conflicts with his initiatives going forward, it is his initiatives that have to make room. As professor Obama taught thousands of us, our treaty obligations are the "supreme law in the land"; they are not contingent on political convenience.  Investigating and prosecuting torture is not only required, it is not only right. It will advance president Obama's initiatives going forward. After all, any nation would have to be delusional to sign new treaties or accords with the United States as long as we oppose enforcing the treaties we have already ratified.

Barry Levine

Any Indictment of Interrogation Policy Makers Would Face Several Hurdles

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/us/politics/23legal.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=charlie%20savage&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Subject: re: Any Indictment of Interrogation Policy Makers Would Face Several Hurdles
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Mr. Savage takes us through the looking glass to a realm where torturers aren't culpable because they acted on legal counsel and lawyers aren't culpable because they didn't torture. Presto! No one is responsible for anything--except for Article II, section three of our constitution that holds the president of the United States responsible to " take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed".  Even if the circular logic of the Bush regime can absolve both the torturers and those who sanctioned their torture, responsibility ultimately rests with the chief executive.

Barry Levine

Obama Won’t Bar Inquiry, or Penalty, on Interrogations

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/politics/22intel.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=obama%20won't%20bar%20inquiry&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 9:14 AM
Subject: re: Obama Won’t Bar Inquiry, or Penalty, on Interrogations
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    At Nuremberg, The U.S. argued that culpability for crimes against humanity attaches at all levels, from the guard who held the whip to the chancellor who set the policy, and to everyone in between.  The civilized world still embraces that standard. The president of the United States has the constitutional power to pardon those convicted of crimes if he/she feels that punishing them does not serve the nation's interest. The president has no proper role in blocking the investigation and prosecution of those crimes. In fact, we are bound by our treaties to investigate and prosecute or extradite. Let Mr. Obama pardon torturers if he feels it is in the nation's interest. Let him end the cover-up of crimes committed by the Bush administration; it is not in the nation's interest.

Barry Levine

Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/us/politics/17detain.html?hp

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 7:32 PM
Subject: re: Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   It would be innovative to absolve torturers of guilt because they were ignorant of the law. To absolve them because they proceeded on bad legal advice seems to be a distinction without a difference. However that plays out in our own courts, our treaty obligations remain the "supreme law of the Land". As signatory to the 1984 Conventions on Torture, we are obligated to charge and try or extradite those who violated our treaty obligations. I am embarrassed that our own department of State has intimidated a Spanish Court into blocking the trial of the "Bush Six". It would be a stupid use of scarce diplomatic capital to engage in a broad cover-up of the crimes of the last administration.

Barry Levine

Iraq Provinces Try to Overcome Political Disarray

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/world/middleeast/16province.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=sectarianism%20stalls%20efforts&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 9:42 AM
Subject: re: Iraq Provinces Try to Overcome Political Disarray
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    In 2007 under cover of the Surge, the Bush administration reversed course on Iraq. We began to build, arm and empower sectarian militias at the expense of non-sectarian national institutions. Predictably, this has not led to a smooth integration of the provinces into a peaceful unified state; the U.S. forces are called on it intervene between the factions. Barring partition of the country, this policy will lead either to an indefinite U.S. presence to keep peace, or to bloody civil war. If the Obama administration means to honor its campaign rhetoric of withdrawal from Iraq, it must reverse this Bush-era policy of arming sectarian militias there. If it ever means to find an exit from Afghanistan, it will refrain from making the same mistake in that country.

Barry Levine

In Minnesota, a Battle Without End for a Senate Seat

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/us/politics/15minn.html?ref=todayspaper

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Subject: re: In Minnesota, a Battle Without End for a Senate Seat
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Months pass, and still the U.S. Senate operates short-handed.  Now that the Minnesota court has denied his appeal, Norm Coleman must choose between his loyalty to the party-of-no and his loyalty to his constituents, who deserve a senator. The process and the finding of the court are both evidently impartial. To further impede the functioning of our government for partisan ends is petulant at best. 

   Ultimately, all states should establish procedures to resolve votes that are closer than the margin of confidence. For now, the people of Minnesota are unlikely to reward senator Coleman's tantrum.

Barry Levine

Hamas Comes Out of Hiding

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/opinion/13mcgeough.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hamas%20comes%20out&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 8:19 AM
Subject: re: Hamas Comes Out of Hiding
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   Mr. McGeough's letter is ambiguous. Is "Watch what we do, not what we say" a quote from Mr. Mishal, or is it conjecture that Mr. McGeough puts into the latter's mouth? If it is a quote, Mr. Mishal has refused any role in peace talks; the substance of peace talks is "what we say" and that, we are told means nothing. If Mr. McGeough has been putting his own words into Mr. Mishal's mouth, Mr. Mishal deserves the opportunity to make himself clear.

Barry Levine

Anarchy on Land Means Piracy at Sea

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/opinion/12kaplan.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=anarchy%20on%20land&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 2:52 PM
Subject: re: Anarchy on Land Means Piracy at Sea
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   As our experience with the Barbary States, and as Israel's history shows, one can make peace with a state. No one knows how to make peace with a non-state actor, be it on the Indian Ocean or in Tora Bora.  As long as failed states are permitted to fester, they will harbor threats to the rest of the world. We may not like the states that would emerge in such places, but it is not for us to choose their governments. What we cannot tolerate is a haven for criminals beyond the reach of law.

Barry Levine

C.I.A. Closing Secret Overseas Sites for Terror Detainees

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/world/10detain.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=panetta&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 8:40 AM
Subject: re: C.I.A. Closing Secret Overseas Sites for Terror Detainees
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:
  Although the decision to prosecute torturers rests with our
Attorney General, and not with our head of C.I.A., mr. Panetta owes us
a fuller exposition of his theory of responsibility. Is George Bush
alone guilty, because his Justice department "had declared their
actions legal"? Does guilt reside somewhere in the Department of
Justice? Does guilt magically cease to exist if the conspiracy is big
enough? Any one of these would be an interesting theory. We wait
eagerly to hear him defend any one of them.
Barry Levine

A Public Plan for Health Insurance?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/opinion/07tue1.html?scp=1&sq=a%20public%20plan%20for%20health%20insurance&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Subject: re: A Public Plan for Health Insurance?
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   You note that "What many critics seem to fear most [in Obama's healthcare initiative] is that a new public plan would sweep away its private competitors". You are too delicate to say that those private competitors currently route millions of dollars to the re-election campaigns of our senators and congresspeople. Only when we make campaign finance reform work can we expect a healthcare system that serves the people, rather than the insurance industry and its lobbyists.

Barry Levine

America Seeks Bonds to Islam, Obama Insists

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/world/europe/07prexy.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=wants%20ties%20to%20islam&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 9:06 AM
Subject: re: America Seeks Bonds to Islam, Obama Insists
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    Nine years later, people still argue whether John Paul II did or did not apologize for the Crusades as he undertook his first trip to the Middle East. President Obama would do well to make himself clear there, as elsewhere. He should disown explicitly George Bush's call for "Crusade". With that single word, president Bush alienated crucial allies around the world. We need those allies, and we need to be clear; our struggle is against a criminal organization and not against Islam.

Barry Levine

Where’s Our Man in Iraq?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/opinion/06weston.html?scp=1&sq=our%20man%20in%20iraq&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Subject: re: Where’s Our Man in Iraq?
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    "Convincing the fractious spectrum of Iraqi religious and ethnic communities that the United States remains committed to fostering an enduring nonsectarian Iraq" requires more than prompt installation of our man in Baghdad. It requires reversing years of Bush policy in which we armed and empowered the sectarian militias that aspire to tear the Iraqi state apart. We did this at the expense of building the non-sectarian national organizations that Mr. Weston endorses.  As pressing as is the need for an ambassador in Iraq, the need for a coherent policy is more urgent.

Barry Levine

Obama and the Confidence Game

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/weekinreview/05baker.html?ref=todayspaper

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 2:42 PM
Subject: re: Obama and the Confidence Game
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    It is impossible that president Obama won't disappoint most of us in some way; too many disparate hopes ride on his presidency. One thing he can do to buoy our confidence is to distance himself from the crimes and cover-ups of the last administration. This means freeing any detainees from Guantanamo and other secret prisons who cannot be charged with crimes. Some of them may well proceed to assert--honestly--that they were tortured. That charge is a stain on the last administration, and not on Obama's. Americans voted for change, that that can't be satisfied while our government continues to defend the indefensible.

Barry Levine

An Old Breed of Hungarian Pig Is Back in Favor

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/dining/01pigs.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hungarian%20pigs&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Subject: re: An Old Breed of Hungarian Pig Is Back in Favor
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

  By the end of the article, we have learned that the mangalitsa pigs sampled had been fed a special diet and where twice as old at time of slaughter as the benchmark American factory-raised pigs. Why should we expect the marbling, or the flavor, or anything else to be comparable?

Barry Levine

Chinese Inmates at Guantánamo Pose a Dilemma

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/us/politics/01gitmo.html?scp=1&sq=chinese%20pose%20a%20dilemma&st=cse

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 8:17 AM
Subject: re: Chinese Inmates at Guantánamo Pose a Dilemma
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   If the U.S. is to be China's jailer to her dissidents, we should do it on solid grounds. What evidence against these men has been tested in court? Merely being a foreigner in Afghanistan was enough to get one turned in for an American bounty. A trillion dollars in U.S. bonds gives Beijing a real interest in our policies, but as a sovereign nation, we must still make our own decisions on who deserves liberty.

Barry Levine

Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/washington/29global.html?ref=todayspaper

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Subject: re: Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

   After eight years of Bush/Cheney, our allies respect us less and our enemies fear us less. This is not of president's Obama's making; he was elected by a population revolted by this slip in our standing. Nonetheless, this is the reality of 2009 in which he must advance his agenda. To move forward into a new era of trust and cooperation, the U.S. will have to demonstrate anew that it is trustworthy in negotiation and faithful to our treaty obligations. As long as we continue to shield those who tortured, who enabled torture, and who covered up torture--in defiance of the 1984 Protocols on Torture--our allies have no incentive to enter into any new agreements with us.

Barry Levine

Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/world/europe/29spain.html?ref=europe

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine <levinebar@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 28, 2009 at 8:39 PM
Subject: re: Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

 Although it took us five years, the U.S. did sign and ratify the 1984 Convention Against Torture. As you note "[c]ountries that are party to the torture convention have the authority to investigate torture cases, especially when a citizen has been abused." More importantly, we have the obligation to investigate and prosecute or extradite those who committed such crimes. It is praise-worthy that president Obama has not launched partisan attacks on the former regime. If we are to have a "government of laws, not one of men", it remains incumbent on him to enforce the law, even when it is not politically convenient.

Barry Levine