Skirting the real question

David Broder writes out against individual accountability for potential Bush-era abuses.  He’s not standing with those who defend the alleged practices, just worried the costs are too high:

In times like these, the understandable desire to enforce individual accountability must be weighed against the consequences. This country is facing so many huge challenges at home and abroad that the president cannot afford to be drawn into what would undoubtedly be a major, bitter partisan battle over prosecution of Bush-era officials. The cost to the country would simply be too great.

The problem with Broder’s reasoning is that’s it’s purely question begging.  What, exactly, are the consequences?  We didn’t drop the atomic bomb or intern Japanese-Americans during moments of leisure.  Morally questionable actions usually take place because we’re facing challenges on multiple fronts.

That’s not to say Broder is wrong.  The consequences of investigation and prosection of Bush-era authorizations may well outweigh the benefits.  But that’s a conclusion, not a starting place.

–Sam

Related posts:

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  4. An honest question for Wieseltier
  5. Do unto others

September 3, 2009 · Filed Under Obligations/Duties, Property, Punishment, Sam, Torture

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  • Editors

    Jacob Bronsther is a law student at NYU, a former Fulbright Scholar to Mauritius, and a graduate of Cornell University. He has an MPhil in Political Theory from the University of Oxford.

  • Sam Gill is a consultant in Washington and a graduate of the University of Chicago. He studied Political Theory at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

  • Marc Grinberg is a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. government and a graduate of Princeton University. He earned an MPhil in Political Theory from the University of Oxford.

  • John Rood is the founder of Next Step Test Preparation and a graduate of Michigan State University. He has an AM in Political Theory from the University of Chicago.

  • Luke Freedman is a student at Carleton College, pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Political Science.


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