Torture and other Bush-era policies have fallen off many people's radar screens. It would be easier if we could forget about the human rights abuses sanctioned by our government. Yet, not only has the government failed to hold those responsible for torture available, but the government has, in many cases, rewarded them. Such is the case with "Albert," once disciplined for acts of torture committed while he was a CIA operative, and now employed by the CIA as a contractor to train CIA operatives.
We agree with the ACLU Blog of Rights in stating, "It's safe to say that many employers might frown upon a potential hire who violated domestic and international law." To hire an individual guilty of torture as a trainer for the CIA seems to indicate a complete disregard for the current ban on torture.
One of the first significant actions President Obama took upon entering office was to issue an Executive Order banning torture. In doing so, he placed the power and prestige of the presidency behind the rule of law. Since then, however, the Obama Administration has had a mixed record on issues of transparency, national security, and Guantanamo. As an ACLU report noted in a report in July, ""There is a very real danger that the Obama administration will enshrine permanently within the law policies and practices that were widely considered extreme and unlawful during the Bush administration. There is a real danger, in other words, that the Obama administration will preside over the creation of a 'new normal.'"
Apparently, employing torturers is the new normal.