Inhofe Watch: Oklahoma senator's torture denial

categories: Global Warming Denial, Inhofe Watch, Politics, Science, Security Theatre

Published September 03, 2009 @ 04:24PM PT

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) is the Congressional standard-bearer for global warming denial.

(And the recipient of hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions from the oil, gas, and utility industries.)

Yesterday, he demonstrated that his is an equal opportunity capacity for self-delusion, when he told constituents at a town meeting that there has "never been a case of torture" at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

If only this were true. But it's just as accurate as Senator Jim's claims about global warming, which is to say not accurate at all. The the Center for Constitutional Rights, International Committee for the Red Cross, and the CIA itself have all documented the use of torture by American interrogators against detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

It's unlikely that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder would have bucked the wishes of his boss, President Obama, and appointed a prosecutor to investigate abuses of detainees by the CIA, if there were no case to be made.

What's this got to do with global warming? It goes to credibility.

President Obama was elected here, and embraced warmly abroad, in part on his promises that the US would once again abide by its commitments under international human rights law and close Guantanamo Bay. And as well, on his pledges to bring good science back into making policy -- such as effective curbs on greenhouse gas emissions.

Although it's an open question right now how well the administration will fulfill these campaign promises, there's no denial coming from this White House that these problems exist. And as the popular belief goes, you have to admit you have a problem before you can begin to solve it.

Senator Jim, meanwhile, is a card-carrying member of the unreality-based community.

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Comments (1)

Yeah. He's a reliable source of comedic relief.

Posted by Emily Gertz on 09/05/2009 @ 01:19PM PT
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