Editorial voices from elsewhere
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad as compiled by the Associated Press:
Experts seemed divided about whether the self-proclaimed Islamic “sheikh” who was killed Monday in a standoff with police in Sydney, Australia, was a nutcase or a terrorist who was acting alone.
It doesn’t matter. Both are essentially the same thing.
Individuals with a history of violent acts and links to terrorism must be monitored. While that’s tough to do within the confines of existing laws, local and national authorities must not forget that America is in the cross hairs. It takes just one lunatic to cause havoc.
Man Haron Monis, 50, who was identified by Australian media as the gunman behind a tense 16-hour standoff inside a Sydney coffee shop, fits that bill. Why someone with his disturbed and violent background was still walking the streets is a question Australian authorities haven’t answered.
Sadly, two innocent people were killed during the rescue operation. Their deaths are tragic reminders of what’s at stake in the battle against terror.
Last week, Congress rushed to pass the awkwardly named “cromnibus.” It was more than just a mashup of a continuing resolution (the “cr,” that is) and omnibus spending bill. Lawmakers – primarily Republicans – inserted inappropriate pet causes, pork and pandering to special interests.
Because lawmakers again waited until the eve of a government shutdown to act, they had no time or inclination to write a thoughtful budget that reflected overarching policy goals. The cromnibus neither helps the middle class nor reduces the deficit. Instead, it allows the country to hobble along for another year.
Not content to do no good, the GOP-controlled House insisted on doing harm by inserting policy and spending priorities where they don’t belong. Many Democrats served as their enablers, supporting the cromnibus with the thin rationale that it could have been worse.
On the spending front, millions of dollars will buy fighter jets that the Pentagon had not even asked for. Someone’s district will score big.
Meanwhile, Congress cut $93 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. WIC helps low-income mothers buy food for their children. It also cut funds for two major Republican bogeymen – the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service.
Exploiting the budget process to bypass public scrutiny and democratic debate only reinforces the overwhelming American consensus that, despite faint appearances of bipartisanship, Congress truly is broken.
Torture is abhorrent and unacceptable wherever it is used. A basic tenet of democracies everywhere is that we do not stoop to the vile methods of tyrants and terrorists.
Despite that, there are sound reasons to question the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on alleged CIA torture after 9/11. Sanctimonious in its excoriation of the methods used by the CIA amid the fear that swept America and much of the civilized world, the report implies the CIA should somehow have operated on the basis of Marquis of Queensberry rules and the Geneva Conventions. The report overlooks the profound crisis and global emergency that followed 9/11 and the intense pressure on the CIA and other agencies to do whatever was necessary to prevent further mass murder of innocent civilians by terrorists.
Governments everywhere face a profound dilemma over how to deal effectively with jihadist terrorists who have a total disregard for human life and are hellbent on mass murder. Stooping to the vile methods of the terrorists and resorting to water boarding and other forms of torture is unacceptable in a democratic society where the rule of law prevails. Despite its many flaws, the CIA and intelligence agencies everywhere have much to learn from the report and the controversy it has provoked.