Republicans are running short on memory and long on buffoonery.
Last week alone, more hard evidence surfaced on how Bush administration officials authorized the torture of detainees, in violation of both the Constitution and international laws.
In the face of mounting public outrage and growing pressure for an independent investigation and accountability, Republicans are digging in their heels. Senators John McCain, Arlen Spector and Kit Bond, among others, have decided that pursuing justice is not a sign of a civil society. It amounts to, as they have put it, the behavior of a Banana Republic.
The derogatory term “Banana Republic” refers to countries that were historically dominated by U.S.-backed dictators who were fans of the same interrogation tactics as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
The term is rarely used to refer to the democratic regimes that have to clean up the mess of the dictators. Ironically, the Republicans seem to be arguing that a Banana Republic status is not acquired by the commission of war crimes and routine torture of prisoners, but by trying to investigate these deeds.
The Wall Street Journal has referred to the justification of torture as a policy disagreement. The paper goes on to describe a probe in this way: “This is what happens in Argentina, Malaysia or Peru, countries where the law is treated merely as an extension of political power.”
Actually, the U.S. can draw a lesson of integrity from Peru, which just tried and convicted ex president Alberto Fujimori for war crimes. That process restored the confidence of Peruvians in the ability of their nation to hold officials accountable for egregious executive abuses. Argentina as well has convicted and jailed past military leaders for ordering human rights violations.
There’s certainly something bananas here, but not with countries to the south. Rather, the Banana Republicans attempting to derail justice are the backwards players. Americans need to see clearly through their attempts to stonewall justice.
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