This is what happened when the Bush administration was allowed by President Obama to go away quietly and not have to face any kind of retribution for war crimes, for lying the country into an endless war, for torturing people. Former administration officials can go on Trump's favorite TV show, Fox & Friends, and say shit like this.
Oh, that's not all. We get to learn why people who point out that torture was and is illegal and a government official who championed it and covered it up should not be promoted to a position in this government "offend" Rice's delicate sensibilities.
Well I am offended that people who were not there and who didn't have to make the tough decisions now want to second-guess. I think that—look, we're an open society, people can debate, there's nothing wrong with that, but the fine professionals who kept us safe deserve our praise, not our criticism.
Torture did not keep us safe. Torture unequivocally helped fuel the flame of hatred of the United States. It helped fuel the growth of ISIS. It did incalculable damage to our international standing. It rendered the notion that we are a nation under the rule of law that abided by international law like the Geneva Conventions "quaint" and "obsolete" according to her then-White House colleague Alberto Gonzales.
That stain that President Obama tried to hide under the rug is seeping through under Trump. Bigger and darker and more permanent.
