Why did Obama change his mind on “cruel and inhuman” treatment?

Harold Koh, with the State Dept., said at a 2010 press conference "cruel and inhuman" treatment would not be used "going forward." Not a single media personality has asked Koh or Obama to explain how killing someone is not a painful process. (Photo from U.S. Government)President Barack Obama opened the door on my question by making a campaign statement based on thin air, a statement that contradicts his long running criticism of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.

The Weekly Standard reported comments by Obama:

"I'd just recommend that everybody take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they thought it was appropriate to go into Pakistan and to take out bin Laden,’  Obama said, obviously taking a shot at Romney. ‘I assume that people meant what they said when they said it. And that's been at least my practice. I said that I would go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him--and I did. If there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they would do something else, then I'd go ahead and let them explain it.’"

The first question I have for Obama is why did we kill Osama bin Laden? Imagine the wealth of information we might have extracted from him. I do realize we have his diary (allegedly). It seems to me the team that took out bin Laden, if given the option, might have brought him out alive.

I would not bring this up if Obama hadn’t offended me so by making the SEAL team’s actions public. I’ve explained repeatedly—no other media will say this—that making SEALs’ actions public goes against their Ethos.

Furthermore, media offered Obama a free pass on an action that a Republican president would have been assailed for—going into a country reportedly helping us with the Not-War-On-Terror and killing someone who is a guest in that country.

As if that’s not enough, consider what Obama’s State Dept. legal adviser Harold Hongju Koh said during a press conference in 2010:

“This president of the United States said that torture and cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment will not be used going forward with regard to interrogation practices. So there has been a clear turning of the page.”

So killing is kinder than waterboarding? Remember the wrath directed at the CIA over President George W. Bush's policies? Those who were waterboarded lived to talk about that and other matters.

Obama most definitely “said one thing” and did another.

How many of our troops were killed because of the anti-war statements that poured forth from Obama’s camp before he became president?

I don’t care that we hit bin Laden and I am truly grateful our team members made it out unharmed.

Obama obviously changed his mind about “cruel…or degrading treatment.”  This isn’t the first time. Our president also took out an American citizen without benefit of trial or even charges.

If media were worth a pinch of salt, someone would be asking the president for some answers on his drastic change in position.

I have brought this up for a very long time. And I’m going to keep saying it until someone follows up.

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/April 30, 2012)

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