Just a little obstruction...

kc — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:35:06 -0800

The co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission come right out with the "O" word:

But the recent revelations that the C.I.A. destroyed videotaped interrogations of Qaeda operatives leads us to conclude that the agency failed to respond to our lawful requests for information about the 9/11 plot. Those who knew about those videotapes — and did not tell us about them — obstructed our investigation.

While the destruction of the tapes and the pretty obvious obstruction of justice the act engenders are troubling, what may be more so is what else we haven't been told about. That's the problem with a government that operates in secret. We have no idea whether they have withheld a lot more information that might have proved politically troubling or embarrassing for the administration.

When it's proven that a government lies to its citizens, it's hard to accept their pleas of "just trust us." That's why this issue, and the issue of wiretapping is important to ordinary citizens. We shouldn't trust the government to operate totally in secret and without any controls. Pretty soon, we end up with another megalomanic who uses the machinery of government to gain power and settle scores.

We don't need another Watergate to remind us of why the laws of the land must apply to everyone.

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Just a little obstruction...