A good call

Obama had been listening to the pros and cons from his Attorney General (pro) and intelligence people (con) about releasing the torture memos.

Today, he made his decision, and it is a good one. Here is what the president said:

"While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for that principle in court and will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these memos and require their release."

And Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Christopher Dodd said this:

These legal memoranda demonstrate in alarming detail exactly what the Bush administration authorized for "high value detainees" in U.S. custody. The techniques are chilling... We cannot continue to look the other way; we need to understand how these policies were formed if we are to ensure that this can never happen again. This is why my proposal for a Commission of Inquiry is necessary.

Now that it looks like the Spanish chief prosecutor is not going to bring a case against the bush six (Gonzales, Feith, Addington, et al) who were involved, releasing these memos is even more essential. It might even lead to some sort of investigation here in the U.S.

Ralph