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Transparency and its Disadvantages

Posted by Marvin Wiebener on Friday, October 30, 2009 2:00:48 PM
Transparency, as a government goal, is admirable and we applaude those legislators--and presidents who aim for that objective. However, as we all know, it doesn't or at least it shouldn't apply to espionage. Openess is a concept relatively new to human intercourse and throughout the recent span of time we've been toying with the notion we are acutely aware of our lack of success. We still deceive, lie, mislead and manipulate facts in order to veil our true thoughts and intentions. Don't we? Yes we do and, in some cases, it is for good reason. And in all cases it is a natural phenomona, it is the way we're wired. Secrecy  is the corner stone of privacy and confidentiality and for the sake of our own individual survival secrecy is nearly as important as water. No wonder confiding in someone is so difficult and just imagine confiding in someone who may try to hurt you with what you've revealed. It is the same with transparency/openess. When our government takes action that allows a potential enemy to gain information that might be used against the US for the sake of appearing honest, straight forward and open they have gone too far. As for me I can only hope Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General will allow his probe into the CIA's extreme interrogation methods die on the vine.
 
For more on similar issues involving Iran go to http://marvwiebener.wordpress.com/
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ERIC HOLDER

Posted by Marvin Wiebener on Monday, August 10, 2009 1:41:24 PM

I promised to continue the blog topic of last week, SPYING: What Will Obama Do?, but I’m now even more concerned about Attorney General Eric Holder and his intent on investigating Bush-era interrogation tactics, so we’ll return to Spying later.

Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and readers of this blog according to an article by Greg Miller and Josh Meyer written August 9, 2009 Mr. Holder is on the verge of naming a federal investigator. The question becomes is this the right move for the US?  No, I say absolutely not.  You might wonder why I’m so emphatic. As some of you know I’m not an expert on interrogation methods or the laws that govern their usage.  I am an interested citizen of the US that not only has the right to proffer my opinion but the obligation to do so, especially in the face of an impending injustice.  The Bush-era interrogation tactics investigation is the impending injustice I’m referring to.

Ask yourself why are we investigating, so that we can point at Bush and his administration with the finger of contempt and righteous indignation?  Or maybe we will find al Qaeda innocent of murdering three-thousand innocent non-combatants.  Some believe we will expose the evil within the CIA, DOD.  Let me say this to that belief, I can find evil in your hometown church, in any college and cookie manufacturer in the US—in other words, evil is everywhere.  Now ask yourself this, is it absolutely evil, absolutely un-lawful, absolutely un-ethical and immoral to torture the hell out of someone if there is a good chance they have information that could save one American life.  I believe it isn’t absolute and therefore the end justifies the means.  Let’s move on with new and improved interrogation methods, let’s implement the ones we already have.  Let’s thank Bush and the interrogators for keeping the US safe from attacks since September 11, 2001 and move on.  What will we benefit if the government spends millions of dollars, countless man-hours, and ruining reputations in the process?  Those citizens, the results of this investigation will be released to, are probably still in diapers, and the likelihood of them giving a damn is remote.

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Secrecy A Must!

Posted by Marvin Wiebener on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 1:35:39 PM
   This writer is troubled by President Obama's recanting of his assurance to the CIA that he would not seek prosecution for operatives, agents and contractors that may have used aggressive interrogation techniques when questioning terrorists. For an administration to even consider such a notion is at least pointless if not entirely dangerous. Who in their right mind would push the limits of interrogation methodology, even if the information could save lives, if the prospect of prosecution hung over their head? How does this effect U.S. intelligence gathering from this point on? Is there a reasonable set of circumstances where, for instance waterboarding, aggressive interrogation would be reinstated and/or used under certain circumstances? This line of thinking can go on forever with topic appendages springing to life like tree limbs in spring, common sense comes to mind first, then morality and ethics, human rights and is one person's right to not be tortured supercede another's right to life?
   Today the U.S. is faced with a number of threats, and one in particular is Iran and the growing threat to the Middle-East and the world. Our government knows what they are doing, but is the new administration up to dealing with the threat now while it may be manageable or are they going to play into the hands of Iran's leadership. More on this later, stay tuned.
   
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