Here is a direct quote of the "ombudsman":

There are people who say this was torture, and there are people who say that no, these techniques were necessary to get information.

I'll leave the other Letters readers to figure out the absurdity themselves. No wonder she refuses to speak to Glenn directly.

What's going on?

We have to confront a painful question about our President. Many of us were convinced that he would be very different from his predecessor in matters of civil liberties. He is not. The distance between our expectations and reality is a failure that must be explained. So what happened? -- Blue Meme

What's going on is that the vast majority of "us" have not accepted that it is the system, controlled by the corporate/MIC elite establishment, that is the real culprit. Our failure to see and failure to internalized the fact that the system is fundamentally broken and that the executive and legislative branches do not represent the people is the problem. So, "we" continue to support and vote for establishment candidates for high office. What happened is that we elected another establishment corporatist. That is what happened.

The ... decisions made by the Obama Administration are not made in a vacuum, Glenn.

Thank you for that sunburst. NO decisions are made in a vacuum. They're made in a context, and it is precisely the context in which Obama's choices have been made (humans in cages, no charges, no chance to defend themselves, etc.) that render them indefensible.

Barack Obama has inherited a legal fiasco of which a significant amount of terrorists have had the legal cases against them so tainted...

Um, excuse me, but you meant to say "terrorist suspects." Small point. Except that it's huge. Well -- everything, actually.

But to divorce the tough choices Obama has to make from the non-linear nature of the election change marked on January 20th, 2009 ...

Huh?

... is to live in fantasy land. Yes it would be nice if the "rule of law" applied equally and always to every scenario... But this country has been applying the law unequally to women, black people, Native Americans, immigrants, poor people, etc. since its inception.

Interesting. I've heard people invoke the "two wrongs don't make a right" moral axiom before, but I've never met anyone this side of John Yoo who dared to take up the "multiple wrongs do make a right" argument -- and attempt to elevate it to a formal defense.

To claim Barack Obama is worse than Bush because he's attempting to extricate himself from a fiasco of Bush crime...

Where do you see any evidence of an attempt to "extricate"? Or is that too "linear" a question? (Hint: The "evidence" part of the question requires that a lucid answer concern itself with Obama's actions -- not his lofty, platitudinous speechifying.)

But to whine about Obama holding terrorists...

Oops, there's that minor little oversight again -- you meant "terrorist suspects. I really do hate to be a nag on that point, I know it must be TORTURE for you.

...simply because the Bushies tarnished the legal case beyond repair is to call for a system of justice that has never existed...

Oh my God !!! To advocate a principled system of justice that has never been fully realized -- what was Glenn THINKING? Or any of us, for that matter? That's an interesting premise you've got there, Winny: To strive -- in the real world -- for a previously unfulfilled ideal is to reside in a fantasy land of "whiners."

The ultimate irony is that even if it were true, our living in fantasy land wouldn't have any consequences for you. Whereas the system of abuse that Obama is intitutionalizing has very real consequences for living, breathing human cagelings.

Let's face it: the POTUS & the Democrats are scared to death that a terrorist attack will put them out of business, especially if it involved someone whom we had in custody.

Instead of acknowledging that compromising our principles buys no insurance against attack (as it's childish to believe this) and that this sort of lawless behavior, if anything, increases the risk of attack in the long run, we get "progressive" policies that explicitly exist to preclude blame from being assigned to Democrats in the event something should happen.

This way they can stay in power and continue their good work of making policies that keep them in power.

Dear President Obama,

Remember that really important word you were looking for in a Supreme Court Justice? The word was "Empathy." Well check it out-I looked it up on dictionary.com and here is the definition:

"the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

of another."

Cool definition huh? Well anyways, I was wondering if you had ever thought of trying it out for yourself? My guess is no for a couple of reasons:

1) Have you thought about how it would feel to be acquitted of charges yet still retained in jail because someone who doesn't even know you thinks you could be dangerous?

2) Have you thought about how it would feel to have your family bombed by a drone missile even though they had not been involved in any militaristic activities against the US?

3) Have you thought about how it would feel to have been removed from your partner's deathbed or removed from the military because you were gay?

4) Have you thought about how it would feel to die or our go bankrupt because of unavailable healthcare?

5) Finally, have you ever thought about how it would feel for an American to endure 8 years of lawlessness and treachery from a President, then promised "Change" and the resumption of our liberty, humanity, and pride only to be lied to and stabbed in the back

You are a hypocrite and shame us and yourself daily with your actions.

War is terrorism. As others have noted here before, the US government is the biggest terrorist organization in the world.

So, what's the answer to a rogue government that is out of control and that has long ago disregarded the Constitution (now that due process is out the window)? I guess that so-called egalitarian-liberals (as opposed to the classical variety) still think giving the quasi-corporatist government more power over our lives and the economy is the answer?

It's time to permanently debunk the phony left-right paradigm of the War Party and the 'lesser of two evils' myth, folks. IT'S ALL THERE TO CONTROL YOU. TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN.

'Terrorists' or corporations cannot destroy the Constitution and the Bill of Rights--only a massive government bent on controling its people and the economy can do that.