"We tortured some folks." President Obama

The report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on our handling of captured terrorists during the post-9/11 years is about to be released.

In a news conference, President Obama uttered the words no one in his position has ever said before:   "We tortured some folks. . .  We did some things that were contrary to our values."

Now, keep in mind that soon after he assumed office, President Obama ended the practice of "extended interrogation techniques," the euphemistic phrase of the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Bush crowd.    This report then is on what happened during the Bush presidency.

Still, President Obama has been reluctant to hold his predecessor accountable . . . or the former Veep or Secretary of Defense Rummy.

Here's the other thing this report reportedly makes clear.   The torture that was done was not necessary to get the information we needed.  Cheney and Rumsfeld have staunchly maintained, to this day, that invaluable information was obtained that led to, among other things, the capture of Osama Bin Laden -- even though that didn't take place until a number of years later.

According to some who have seen it, the report makes very clear that, although some information was obtained from some who were tortured, experience has shown that the same information could also have been -- and often was -- obtained through conventional interrogation methods.    One of the most experienced military interrogators said as much at the time.

Now that we have this clarification in what should be accepted as the authoritative answer, is anyone going to be held accountable?   Apparently not.   The president's attitude seems to be that the pressure on the Bush administration and the CIA in the post-9/11 period was enormous, and their motives were to protect our country from another attack.   He acknowledged that "we did some bad things;"   but Obama seems disinclined to pursue any kind of holding them accountable, saying we should "not be too sanctimonious" in judging those who were under pressure to keep American safe in that period.

I disagree with that;  there is a middle ground.   The current political climate would not allow it;  but what should have been done, in my opinion, was what Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu did in South Africa:   a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.    People were interviewed in open hearings -- and with immunity from punishment -- in exchange for getting at the truth, in an effort to collectively acknowledge that this was wrong and we want to insure it will never happen again, so that reconciliation can begin.

Instead, we are still fighting about who did what and who was right -- 13 years later.

Ralph