Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Osazuwa Okundaye [Click to enlarge]

On March 2, Obama's administration released nine memos showing that the Bush administration had plans shortly after Sept. 11 to limit civil rights in the fight against terrorism. Within days of the terrorist attack, Bush and his people discussed wiretapping citizen's phones without warrants and how to set aside other constitutional rights. Shockingly, the memos reveal that the CIA has destroyed nearly 100 videotapes of interrogation and treatment of terrorist suspects. Bush's rush to set aside the liberties of the constitution and expand executive power as an initial option rather than a last resort is appalling. President Obama should be lauded for being forthright with America.

Openness is the cornerstone of any democracy. Without providing honest information to citizens, voters cannot be expected to make a rational decision. Participating in any political process requires a great deal of skepticism, but Americans have replaced doubt with jaded distrust. Most citizens refuse to vote, failing to see their ideas reflected in leaders believed to be only interested in helping themselves. Citizens have adjusted to this reality so well that lies no longer fazes them.

Bush's behavior breeds this sort of hostility toward the democratic process. The former president easily could have released the memos himself, and explained that, given the severity of the attack, he wanted all options on the table. Instead, the former administration decided to remain secretive, giving all the appearances of sinister agenda. A damning memo had the Justice Department allowing the president to suspend the Fourth Amendment against unwarranted search and seizure as long as he is vaguely combating terrorism.

Again, this easily could have been explained away had Bush been upfront with the American public. Because Obama released the memos, the president will receive the appearance of being open about his administration while Bush appears at best dishonest. It is now easy to believe that Bush had more closely guarded secrets of a more sinister nature that have yet surface.

More damning is the 92 interrogation tapes of terrorist suspects destroyed by the CIA. With the government already admitting to the questionable tactic of water boarding, it seems a reasonable assumption that the videos destroyed contained undeniable proff of government endorsed torture. In the best-case scenario, the footage destroyed showed a graphic enough depiction of water boarding that would force the administration to admit torture. The Bush administration claims the tapes were destroyed to protect the identities of those involved while the Justice Department debated the legality of this tactic. If that was the case, the government should have held off on possibly torturing someone. But considering the administration's track record with honesty, it is hard to convince citizens the videos do not contain more violent torture.

Every presidential administration is subject to mistakes, but given the nature of these memos, it is hard to give Bush a pass when he tried to cover them up. Obama owes it to America to further investigate the destruction of these CIA tapes and hold those responsible accountable. More importantly Obama needs to take a valuable lesson from his predecessor's memos and realize that the more open he is with American, the more understanding the country will be of his flaws.

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