An Obligation Discharged

The torture report is terrifying. The methods the CIA used for years to torment human beings were unbelievably cruel. It’s no surprise that countries like North Korea and China agreed, immediately following its publication, to deny the U.S. any right to intervene in their affairs. He who allows, supports and commits such injustice can no longer make moral claims on others.

But the torture report is also a good sign. It shows that there are forces in the U.S. willing to clean house, who will preserve the country from descending into a dictatorship. The publication proves that the Obama administration meant to wipe the slate clean after the Bush years, and that it is prepared, under the threat of further damage to its reputation, to walk the path of enlightenment. There is also no other option.

Given what is known, since 2006, the CIA has no longer allowed been to torture. One can only hope that the report so shakes up the majority that they will not accept torture from a subsequent, possibly Republican administration. In Guantánamo, though, innumerable prisoners continue to sit without ever having been tried in a court of law. Morally and legally, the U.S. administration has an obligation here, but not on this point alone. The use of killer drones should not be overlooked as well.

Thinking about notoriously unjust states, it is absolutely necessary that they work through their criminal acts. As long as the U.S. is unprepared to bring torture suspects before courts of law, it will remain unable to take moral stands against others. The CIA report is a courageous step, but it can only be the first of many.