Thomas Friedman's Tortured Rationalizations

In today's paper, NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman says, "President Obama got it about as right as one could when he decided to ban the use of torture, to release the Bush torture memos for public scrutiny and to not prosecute the lawyers and interrogators who implemented the policy." So, now the man who championed the Bush administration's rush to war in Iraq wants to give them a free pass with respect to torture.

Friedman's rationale for ignoring the criminality of Bush Administration policy shows a lack of respect for American values bordering on contempt. He basically says that Bush, Rumsfeld, and other senior officials deserve prosecution, but to do so "would rip our country apart." Apparently, Friedman thinks we as a people are too weak to uphold our values and enforce our laws. I mean, is our republic really strong enough to withstand Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck fueling a civil war? Better not to risk it, right, Mr. Friedman?

Friedman spends most of his column, however, claiming that Al Queda is so uniquely evil and unreasonable, what with their suicide bombings, beheadings, and such that war with them was bound to be "deeply confounding". In the face of such "confounding" evil, one can forgive a little torture or even the 27 detainee homocides mentioned earlier in the column. After all, Mr. Friedman believes that "a vast majority of Americans would have told the government (and still will): 'Do whatever it takes,'" had their been another 9/11. Perhaps that's true. But isn't that the very reason we have laws, Mr. Friedman, to provide dispassionate guidance in times of turmoil and crisis? Is Al Queda really such a "unique enemy" that our laws, morals, and values are inadequate?

Friedman closes his column with this:

So, yes, people among us who went over the line may go unpunished, because we still have enemies who respect no lines at all. In such an ugly war, you do your best. That’s what President Obama did.

This is our "best" response to war crimes - limited disclosure of a few documents? I still believe that most Americans have higher ethical standards than Mr. Friedman seems to, despite his and others' efforts to simply ignore the stench of the dirty laundry they helped to soil.