Today the long awaited report on CIA torture came out. To anyone paying attention the details of torture by the CIA and their systematic lying to Congress, coverups and secret renditions are no surprise. I guess the best part of this is that it is a government report admitting wrong doing. In my book I Inhaled, Rantings, Ramblings and Ravings of a Hippie Lawyer I have a chapter entitled We Beat the Nazis and They is Us. Here is a section from that chapter: ------------------ In the process of fighting the Nazis, we became a little more like them. I credit Stephen Gaskin for giving me this insight, and I agree. We didnt have a CIA before World War II. After the War, our clandestine covert activities exploded. Fueled by our sense of self-righteousness from being the good guys who won, we justified untold dirty deeds in Central America, destroying fledgling democracies in Guatemala (the unseating of Arbenz), and we supported and maintained ruthless military dictators in Nicaragua, Cuba and Iran (to mention a few). ------------------------------ So the development of the CIA to a secret unfettered untamed organization with an agenda all of its own fueled by a untouchable sense of self-righteousness, is something that has been going on, growing and being cultivated for a long, long time. It always amazes me to see Western style broadcasters all sharing the basic unspoken assumption that we, mostly white Western Civilization are the righteous amidst a planet of barbarians. But pit one groups self-righteous and even religious based motivations against another, and you end up with a present day version of the Crusades. This time though, the weaponry developed by those righteous Western Civilized folks with a history of being handed out like candy to ruthless dictators, now in the hands of whoever threw them from power exponentially raises the stakes of these global conflicts. I wonder how long can hate endure? A long, long time. Nelson Mandela understood this concept probably better than most. And he had justification for hating, but he understood, that fueling and feeding the hate was a never ending cycle that he chose to rise above and requested from his people the same. A true Tzaddick in the Jewish tradition. I applaud the New York Times editorial board for talking about full disclosure yet forgiveness. But perhaps forgiveness is best given by the people most injured by the years of Western Imperialism and CIA torture-- The drone attacks, the smart bomb casualties, and the children who are listed as collateral damage. Can you forgive us as we ask Oh CIA what have you done in our name? Alan Graf
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 02:37:59 +0000
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