SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
When Presidential Sermons Collide
President Obama gave an interview
earlier this week to an Indonesian television station in lieu of the
scheduled trip to that country which was canceled due to the health
care vote. In 2008, Indonesia empowered
a national commission to investigate human rights abuses committed
by its own government under the U.S.-backed Suharto regime "in an
attempt to finall
Mar 25, 2010
President Obama gave an interview
earlier this week to an Indonesian television station in lieu of the
scheduled trip to that country which was canceled due to the health
care vote. In 2008, Indonesia empowered
a national commission to investigate human rights abuses committed
by its own government under the U.S.-backed Suharto regime "in an
attempt to finally bring the perpetrators to justice," and Obama was
asked in this interview: "Is your administration satisfied with the
resolution of the past human rights abuses in Indonesia?" He replied:
We have to acknowledge that those past human rights abuses
existed. We can't go forward without looking backwards
. . . .
When asked last year about whether the United States should use
similar tribunals to investigate its own human rights abuses, as well
his view of other countries' efforts (such as Spain) to investigate
those abuses, Obama
said:
I'm a strong believer that it's important to look forward
and not backwards, and to remind ourselves that we do have
very real security threats out there.
That "Look-Forward/Not-Backward" formulation is one which Obama
and his top
aides have frequently repeated to argue against any investigations
in the U.S. Why, as Obama sermonized, must Indonesians first look
backward before being able to move forward, whereas exactly the opposite
is true of Americans? If a leader is going to demand that other
countries adhere to the very "principles" which he insists on violating
himself, it's probably best not to use antithetical cliches when issuing
decrees, for the sake of appearances if nothing else.
The New Yorker's Jane Mayer -- in the last paragraph of her
new article documenting the multiple lies told by former Bush
speechwriter and current Washington Post columnist Marc
Theissen in his pro-torture book -- offered the best summary yet as to
why Obama's "Look Forward/Not Backward" mentality is so destructive:
The publication of "Courting Disaster" suggests that Obama's
avowed determination "to look forward, not back" has laid the recent
past open to partisan reinterpretation. By holding no one
accountable for past abuse, and by convening no commission on what did
and didn't protect the country, President Obama has left the telling of
this dark chapter in American history to those who most want to
whitewash it.
Nothing enables the glorification of crimes, and nothing ensures
their future re-occurrence, more than shielding the criminals from all
accountability. It's nice that Barack Obama is willing to dispense that
lecture to other countries, but it's not so nice that he does exactly
the opposite in his own.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Salon
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, constitutional lawyer, commentator, author of three New York Times best-selling books on politics and law, and a former staff writer and editor at First Look media. His fifth and latest book is, "No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State," about the U.S. surveillance state and his experiences reporting on the Snowden documents around the world. Glenn's column was featured at Guardian US and Salon. His previous books include: "With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful," "Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics," and "A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency." He is the recipient of the first annual I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism, a George Polk Award, and was on The Guardian team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public interest journalism in 2014.
President Obama gave an interview
earlier this week to an Indonesian television station in lieu of the
scheduled trip to that country which was canceled due to the health
care vote. In 2008, Indonesia empowered
a national commission to investigate human rights abuses committed
by its own government under the U.S.-backed Suharto regime "in an
attempt to finally bring the perpetrators to justice," and Obama was
asked in this interview: "Is your administration satisfied with the
resolution of the past human rights abuses in Indonesia?" He replied:
We have to acknowledge that those past human rights abuses
existed. We can't go forward without looking backwards
. . . .
When asked last year about whether the United States should use
similar tribunals to investigate its own human rights abuses, as well
his view of other countries' efforts (such as Spain) to investigate
those abuses, Obama
said:
I'm a strong believer that it's important to look forward
and not backwards, and to remind ourselves that we do have
very real security threats out there.
That "Look-Forward/Not-Backward" formulation is one which Obama
and his top
aides have frequently repeated to argue against any investigations
in the U.S. Why, as Obama sermonized, must Indonesians first look
backward before being able to move forward, whereas exactly the opposite
is true of Americans? If a leader is going to demand that other
countries adhere to the very "principles" which he insists on violating
himself, it's probably best not to use antithetical cliches when issuing
decrees, for the sake of appearances if nothing else.
The New Yorker's Jane Mayer -- in the last paragraph of her
new article documenting the multiple lies told by former Bush
speechwriter and current Washington Post columnist Marc
Theissen in his pro-torture book -- offered the best summary yet as to
why Obama's "Look Forward/Not Backward" mentality is so destructive:
The publication of "Courting Disaster" suggests that Obama's
avowed determination "to look forward, not back" has laid the recent
past open to partisan reinterpretation. By holding no one
accountable for past abuse, and by convening no commission on what did
and didn't protect the country, President Obama has left the telling of
this dark chapter in American history to those who most want to
whitewash it.
Nothing enables the glorification of crimes, and nothing ensures
their future re-occurrence, more than shielding the criminals from all
accountability. It's nice that Barack Obama is willing to dispense that
lecture to other countries, but it's not so nice that he does exactly
the opposite in his own.
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, constitutional lawyer, commentator, author of three New York Times best-selling books on politics and law, and a former staff writer and editor at First Look media. His fifth and latest book is, "No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State," about the U.S. surveillance state and his experiences reporting on the Snowden documents around the world. Glenn's column was featured at Guardian US and Salon. His previous books include: "With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful," "Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics," and "A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency." He is the recipient of the first annual I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism, a George Polk Award, and was on The Guardian team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public interest journalism in 2014.
President Obama gave an interview
earlier this week to an Indonesian television station in lieu of the
scheduled trip to that country which was canceled due to the health
care vote. In 2008, Indonesia empowered
a national commission to investigate human rights abuses committed
by its own government under the U.S.-backed Suharto regime "in an
attempt to finally bring the perpetrators to justice," and Obama was
asked in this interview: "Is your administration satisfied with the
resolution of the past human rights abuses in Indonesia?" He replied:
We have to acknowledge that those past human rights abuses
existed. We can't go forward without looking backwards
. . . .
When asked last year about whether the United States should use
similar tribunals to investigate its own human rights abuses, as well
his view of other countries' efforts (such as Spain) to investigate
those abuses, Obama
said:
I'm a strong believer that it's important to look forward
and not backwards, and to remind ourselves that we do have
very real security threats out there.
That "Look-Forward/Not-Backward" formulation is one which Obama
and his top
aides have frequently repeated to argue against any investigations
in the U.S. Why, as Obama sermonized, must Indonesians first look
backward before being able to move forward, whereas exactly the opposite
is true of Americans? If a leader is going to demand that other
countries adhere to the very "principles" which he insists on violating
himself, it's probably best not to use antithetical cliches when issuing
decrees, for the sake of appearances if nothing else.
The New Yorker's Jane Mayer -- in the last paragraph of her
new article documenting the multiple lies told by former Bush
speechwriter and current Washington Post columnist Marc
Theissen in his pro-torture book -- offered the best summary yet as to
why Obama's "Look Forward/Not Backward" mentality is so destructive:
The publication of "Courting Disaster" suggests that Obama's
avowed determination "to look forward, not back" has laid the recent
past open to partisan reinterpretation. By holding no one
accountable for past abuse, and by convening no commission on what did
and didn't protect the country, President Obama has left the telling of
this dark chapter in American history to those who most want to
whitewash it.
Nothing enables the glorification of crimes, and nothing ensures
their future re-occurrence, more than shielding the criminals from all
accountability. It's nice that Barack Obama is willing to dispense that
lecture to other countries, but it's not so nice that he does exactly
the opposite in his own.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy