by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 19, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

        Attacking President Brack Obama for releasing Justice Dept. memos detailing “enhanced interrogation techniques,” the GOP launched a new PR campaign asserting the country is less safe.  It started with former Vice President Dick Cheney opining Feb. 4 on CNN that closing Guantanamo Bay raises the risk of another terrorist attack.  Cheney also warned that banning “enhanced interrogation techniques” would handcuff the intelligence community from protecting the American public against possible terrorist threats.  GOP officials rebuked the White House for exposing internal Justice Dept. memos authorizing the military and CIA to use “waterboarding” and a variety of other harsh interrogation methods to glean intelligence from “enemy combatants.”  Releasing the Justice Dept. memos provided the public with the rationale to avoid prosecuting past military and CIA interrogators.

            Obama’s successful trips at the G-20 economic summit in London and this weekend’s Western hemisphere security conference in Trinidad and Tobago, presents problems for the GOP.  After their drubbing in the polls Nov. 4, they were hoping for any traction stemming from Barack’s mistakes.  When he received high marks in London, the GOP ratcheted up the attacks.  Only 18 months from Midterm election, time is running out on slowing Democratic momentum that could make the GOP irrelevant for the foreseeable future.  “The release of these memos is dangerous,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), blasting Obama on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos.  Speaking on “Fox New Sunday” with Brit Hume, Rep. Dick Army called the memos “grotesquely irresponsible.”  Word of U.S. interrogation tactics has been known for years.

            Former National Security Agency and CIA Director four-star Gen. Michael V. Hayden warned April 19 on Fox News of dire consequences to releasing Justice Dept. memos.  “You will have agency officers stepping back from the kinds of things that the nation expects them to do,” said Hayden, playing fast and loose with facts.  A Jan. 21, 2009 ABC poll indicated that 58% of the public supports closing Guantanamo Bay and opposes “enhanced interrogation techniques,” such as “waterboarding,”  Hayden and other GOP apologists fail to mention that former GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) strongly condemned “enhanced interrogation techniques,” regarding them as torture.  Despite GOP arguments favoring controversial methods,  there’s no evidence that that they produce the intelligence breakthroughs intercepting terror attacks or saving U.S. lives.

            Obama’s decision to not prosecute former CIA and military interrogators was directly related to the release of Justice Dept. memos detailing U.S. interrogation policy.  It was, after all, former White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales that crafted the clever definition of “enemy combatant” that helped evade the Geneva Convention granting specific rights to prisoners of war.  When Gonzales ran the Justice Dept {Feb.2, 2005 to Sept. 17, 2007], he gave the green light to use “enhanced interrogation techniques.”  While the GOP blames the White House for releasing the memos, they forget they were published May 30, 2005 in the New York Review of Books.  “One of the reasons the president was willing to let this information was out was that the information was out,” said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on “This Week.”  GOP officials want to spin it as a new security breach.

            Disclosing the Justice Dept. memos held symbolic value in advance of the London G-20 and Americas’ summit in Trinidad and Tobago.  It helped Barack face world leaders with a clean slate, showing the world the U.S. had turned a new page.  Seeking to restore America’s credibility overseas, Obama reminded world leaders that the new administration meant business when it came to ethical counter-terrorism operations.  “The president has banned these enhanced interrogation techniques,” said Obama’s Chief Strategist David Axelrod on CBS’s “Face The Nation” with Bob Schieffer.  “We have turned the page on this episode in our history,” reminding voters why they elected a new president:  To restore a damaged U.S. image.  All the GOP talk about releasing Justice Dept. memos attempts to undermine Obama’s momentum from two successful foreign trips.

            Obama’s recent overseas trips reinforced his campaign promise to restore America’s global image.  GOP leaders blame Bush’s foreign policy mishaps as sour grapes from world leaders.  When Bush detoured from Afghanistan to Iraq, he lost the support of the world community for the events of Sept. 11.  When Barack made a brief swing to the Middle East, he was criticized for “bowing” to Saudi King Abdullah, when, in fact, he was stooping down to greet the diminutive Saudi leader.  Now the GOP rants about showing weakness to Cuban President Raul Castro, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.  A more benign interpretation has Barack building rapport and laying the groundwork for improved relations.  Antagonizing world leaders is no act of courage.  Improving U.S. national security involves building better relations.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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