In short, these were important lies, and the Inky, having uncritically published a great many of them, should feel obligated to cover this story, but it hasn't done it.
Secrets and Rights
The Bush administration has committed numerous crimes of kidnapping, rendition and torture that have been covered up by claims that legal efforts by the victims cannot be allowed because they would force disclosures that would harm "national security." As William Fisher points out, "Alarmed by the George W. Bush administration's increasing use of the so-called 'state secrets privilege' to keep politically embarrassing lawsuits against the government from ever coming before a judge, Congress is stepping in to help ensure that people with grievances can have their cases heard.
"A new bill sponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, would provide a mechanism for protecting legitimate secrets while also permitting civil litigation to proceed. Both are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee ("Politics-US: Congress Seeks to Limit 'State Secrets' Privelege"). This is a very important civil liberties issue, and the New York Times gave it a lead editorial on Feb.2 ("Secrets and Rights" ), saying that "Congress—which has allowed itself to be bullied on national security issues for far too long—may now be ready to push back." Wouldn't it be nice if the Inky also pushed strongly on this issue?
Inky Plus: Clarke on Bush Fear-Mongering
The Inky did provide a harsh criticism of the Bush administration by Richard A. Clarke on February 1, in his "Bush Legacy: Setting a Standard in Fear-Mongering". Clarke, the former head of counterterrorism on the NSC, uses strong but well deserved language, stressing the recklessness and dishonesty of Bush's "perpetuating fear for political gain." He discusses specifically that in fighting the expiration of the Protect America Act, "the president misconstrued the truth and manipulated the facts." This kind of frankness and calling things by their right names regarding Bush is something we haven't often seen on the editorial pages, and although it is compensated for on February 1 with another Kevin Ferris encomium to a fallen U.S. warrior in Iraq (at the top of the page, and with photos), this is an Inky plus that we can hope to see more of in the interest of truth, morality, and "balance."
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