U.S. Moral Leadership and Humanist Values

Were we ever perfect, and who honestly can still call us the United States, No! Nothing is with humans, we're just supposedly the most intelligent living animals on the planet. But humans once strived to be, some still do, not striving to lead in the destructive opposite direction. And despite our history, not much different then any others, we were a leader in practice thus example for others to look to, not only in values but economically and innovations, once not long back. but in the waning years of the 20th and especially since the coming into the 21st centuries we've fallen back in huge strides and in many area's! But growth in one area, in hollow words, has once again become strong. That we're a 'christian nation' founded on the values of christ teachings as those strong arming that religious ideology find it extremely easy themselves to totally ignore those teachings and twist or just rewrite what they are and the meanings of while condemning everyone not buying into their congames to easily grift any seeking that cult like mentality! The Bible and Jesus are unrecognizable in their new preachings from the pulpit or the followers!!

Restoring U.S. moral leadership still a daunting task

December 14, 2014 - Now that the U.S. Senate report on the Central Intelligence Agency's torture practices is out, the question remains whether its revelations do anything to fill the global vacuum of moral authority, which the U.S. created by reacting so violently to the 9/11 attacks. Will the U.S. once again be the world's moral leader? Global reaction so far suggests there's a lot of work to be done first.

The report is clearly meant to help re-establish the U.S. as a guardian of Western humanist values. In presenting it, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said history would judge her and the other authors by their "commitment to a just society governed by law and the willingness to face an ugly truth and say 'never again.'"

What's uncertain, however, is whether the U.S. and its allies understand the basis for that moral leadership. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who deserves praise for breaking party ranks to support the report's release, spent too much time talking about torture's inefficiency at obtaining valuable intelligence before arguing that what's most important is to safeguard Western values. The entire discussion of efficiency, which permeates the report, is counterproductive if the U.S. wants to express closure and repentance. The message needs to be "What we did was wrong," not "What we did failed to achieve results." Dwelling on the questionable value of information obtained under torture suggests that if more efficient methods of breaking down suspects' resistance can be devised, the U.S. will have no qualms about using them. read more>>>

* * * CIA Torture: Read the Senate Intelligence Committee report * * *

In a Democracy: 'Citizens must know what is done in their name'

* * * Seeds of ISIL Planted By Bush/Cheney and Conservative Congresses * * *

* * * The British Iraq War Inquiry * * * Released will carry private communications between GWBush and TBlair, like this already released: TB said there was a danger the Tories would see this as their chance to get rid of him … Bush said they would make it clear to the Tories that if they moved to get rid of TB "we will get rid of them".

* * * Iraq War Promoted Terrorism Rather Than Reducing It * * * 24 April 2014 - Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War promoted terrorism rather than reducing it and was a “strategic failure”, according to a major new report which estimated the cost of all UK conflicts since the end of the Cold War.
The Royal United Services Institute said the UK could face a bill of nearly £65bn, once the cost of long-term care for injured veterans was factored in, with most of the money was spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The study, called Wars in Peace, said both conflicts were largely “strategic failures” for the UK, The Guardian reported."

Facts: Matthew Hoh {former Marine and foreign service officer in Afghanistan}: "We spend a trillion dollars a year on national security in this country."
"And when you add up to the Department of Defense, Department of State, CIA, Veterans Affairs, interest on debt, the number that strikes me the most about how much we're committed financially to these wars and to our current policies is we have spent $250 billion already just on interest payments on the debt we've incurred for the Iraq and Afghan wars." 26 September 2014

Bob Herbert "Losing Our Way" : "And then the staggering costs of these wars, which are borne by the taxpayers. I mean, one of the things that was insane was that, as we're at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration cut taxes. This has never been done in American history. The idea of cutting taxes while you're going to war is just crazy. I mean, it's madness." Bill 'Moyers and Company': Restoring an America That Has Lost its Way 10 Oct. 2014

Chris Hayes MSNBC: "If you can run a deficit to go to war, you can run a deficit to take care of the people who fought it" In response to Republican opposition to expanding Veterans' benefits on fiscal grounds

Neither of these recent wars have yet been paid for, let alone the results from, including the long ignored or outright denied existence of, till this Administrations Cabinet and Gen Shinseki, only Government branch consistent for the past six years, issues! As well as under deficits most of the, grossly under funded, VA budget is still borrowed thus added, problem creating, costs that shouldn't exist!