Zoopolitik

Former Vice President Dick Cheney piped up in my reading of The New York Times this morning, asking on Fox News that the CIA “declassify reports documenting intelligence gained” from harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects under the Bush administration. “Harsh interrogations” is the Times’ code words for torture.

Some Bush administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, accused the administration of endangering the country by disclosing national secrets. Cheney went on the Fox News Channel to announce that he had asked the C.I.A. to declassify reports documenting the intelligence gained from the interrogations. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the former C.I.A. director, has also condemned the release of the memorandums and said the harsh questioning had value.

I have a couple of criticisms here, the first being that Cheney managed to stonewall the release of information requested by the people of the United States (his then-employer) for nearly a decade. My response to his current request? When you release the full transcripts and all documents related to your Energy Task Force, we, the people, will be happy to consider declassifying the CIA records you mentioned. Until then, forget it.

But second, and more importantly, Cheney misses the point. It doesn’t matter that intelligence was obtained through torture. His authorization and the subsequent exercise of torture violated national and international law. His argument is a lot like that of a thief saying, “Yeah, we broke the rules, but we made a lot of money.” Imagine Bernard Madoff using that defense; the state of New York would crucify him.

Dick Cheney condoned and abetted breaking the law. Worse, in a very real sense he reduced American civilization to the methods of its enemy and has left nations around the world asking, “How is the United States any different?” Among the reasons given for the removal of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist government was their use of torture. How can the United States demand that Cuba protect the human rights of its political prisoners when we are violating those of men imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay?

By his own admission, Cheney deserves a long prison term. No wonder he and his cronies are trying to shift the argument away from their felonies to the effectiveness of torture.

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