Lens of Liberty

Gene Healy writes in an article posted at Cato:

Whatever you think the right policy is regarding enemy combatants, warrantless wiretapping, and “enhanced interrogation,” the differences between Obama and Bush are far more stylistic than substantive.

He then compares the policies of the two administration regarding the “war on terror” and shows that “change we can believe in” was a great campaign slogan and that’s about all.

The attacks against John McCain during the campaign was that his would be a third Bush term. I wonder how many Obama voters have noticed that, in many ways, that’s what we’ve gotten with their guy. Since his inauguration we’ve seen continued reckless spending, plans to push the governments tentacles further into health care, and most of all foreign policy which is nearly indistinguishable from George W. Bush.

As the torture debate continues, I’m continually frustrated by the the flawed argument that much of the debate circles around. It does not matter if torture works or not. If you believe that torture is antithetical to American values, then does the technique’s effectiveness matter? Ditto proponents of torture, if waterboarding or other “enhanced interrogation methods” are not in conflict with our values, then you shouldn’t need to use it’s results to justify them.