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Religious Group Still Pushing "Truth Commission"
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is on what could be regarded as a quixotic mission: get the president to change his mind and authorize a commission of inquiry, or "truth commission," to investigate the use of harsh interrogation methods during the Bush administration.
Obama has already rejected the idea, saying in April that he wants to look forward instead of litigating the past. But the National Religious Campaign Against Torture is persisting. Comprised of 250 religious groups, from entire denominations to individual houses of worship, it is keeping the pressure on for what is often called a "truth commission."
Yesterday, it held a demonstration outside the White House, and 33 representatives of the group met with several members of the Obama administration. (No names could be made public, they say.)
The group came away with a commitment to keep talking. And, leaders say, that's just fine with them.
"We didn't expect to come out of there with a commitment from the president of 'Oh, yeah, a commission of inquiry is a great idea,'" said the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the group. "They know that we want to change the president's mind--that is what this is all about."
By
Jacqueline L. Salmon
|
June 12, 2009; 2:51 PM ET
| Category:
God in Government
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Posted by: Paganplace | June 13, 2009 4:17 PM
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I have read the article about the desire of the more progressive church leaders desire to pursue the "truth" about torture during the Bush administration's years in office. However, as a clergyman who has served as an Air force chaplain(1959-1977) and as a Prison Chaplain(1966-2006) I do not see any redemptive purpose in this desire to revisit the sins of the past. I agree with President Obama and St Paul whom I quote: "forgetting those things which lie behind, and looking to those things which lie ahead, I press FORWARD to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Perhaps its more important to prepare the now living for the arduous tasks which lie before us as a nation than retroactive prosecution for that which has already been done. Or as Jesus said: "Let the dead bury the dead...."
Posted by: chaplainn | June 13, 2009 2:04 PM
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"Or as Jesus said: "Let the dead bury the dead...."
Only problem with that is it tends to leave rotting corpses lying around.
With all the other messes Bush and company have left us with, there are real questions of how productive such inquiries might be...
But conservatives should realize, if it was good enough to do and claim wasn't happening, it's good enough to look at.
There should be a reckoning about it, whatever the result.
It's not about the past.
It's about the next time, Gods avert, someone gets it in mind to do something like that.