Oh Boy, Another One ...

Yesterday, we told you about Jon "Let'em Go" Meacham, and his "Hear/Speak/See No Evil" approach to holding the Bush Grindhouse accountable for their war crimes.



Today, it is, none other, than Thomas "My Head Is Flat", "Suck On This" Friedman, proud creator of the infamous "Friedman Unit".

The president’s decision to expose but not prosecute those responsible for this policy is surely unsatisfying; some of this abuse involved sheer brutality that had nothing to do with clear and present dangers. Then why justify the Obama compromise? Two reasons: the first is that because justice taken to its logical end here would likely require bringing George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and other senior officials to trial, which would rip our country apart; and the other is that Al Qaeda truly was a unique enemy, and the post-9/11 era a deeply confounding war in a variety of ways.

[Snip]

First, Al Qaeda was undeterred by normal means. Al Qaeda’s weapon of choice was suicide. Al Qaeda operatives were ready to kill themselves — as they did on 9/11, and before that against U.S. targets in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen — long before we could ever threaten to kill them. We could deter the Russians because they loved their children more than they hated us; they did not want to die. The Al Qaeda operatives hated us more than they loved their own children. They glorified martyrdom and left families behind.

We think Mister My Head Is Flat shoots down his own argument, right here.

"Al Qaeda’s weapon of choice was suicide. Al Qaeda operatives were ready to kill themselves ..."

Since Al Qaeda was "undeterred by normal means", fearless of suicide and "ready to kill themselves", why then, would we want to play into all that with torture?

It would seem to be a wiser choice, to do proper interrogations with them, dispelling the myths, and building rapports that trained interrogators say produce better results.

Sorry there Mister Suck-On-This, you don't get to pass Go, and collect your, apparently much-needed, $200.

And, can we start tearing down this meme, that holding criminals accountable for their crimes will "tear the country apart."

Who says so? ... When has this happened, what factual documentation do these people have?

Ford screwed the pooch with pardoning Nixon for the same rationale, choking off the display of democracy, with having the Congress impeach the sitting, criminal President.

So, why is it that, in "enforcing the laws that are on the books" (a favorite Freak Show lament, when it comes to gun control, and immigration), will "tear the country apart", rather than stand out, showing our fellow citizens, and the world, that we are big enough, and strong enough, to take care of our business, orderly, and with respect.

I expect this will get a lot more voicing, as we crawl towards the War Crime Trials, awaiting, hopefully, not in the distant future.

So, Suck On That, there Mr. Friedman Unit.


Bonus "My Head Is Flat" Riffs

Barrett Brown: Thomas Friedman’s Five Worst Predictions

Delawareliberal: Tom Friedman and Me - Or - Calling Friedman out Near the Coat Check at Sardi’s

Wonkette: Thomas Friedman Assaulted By Rhode Island Pies!

Thomas Freidman, Clearly, Is Eating Lead-Painted Toys From His Flat World Economy!

Happy 5th Anniversary of "Suck On This" Day!