Standard Political Apology

Cal Thomas | Syndicated Columnist | Thursday, June 23, 2005

Standard Political Apology

June 23, 2005

Senator Dick Durbin has issued the standard political apology for having gotten himself in hot water for his intemperate remarks comparing interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay to Hitler, Pol Pot and Soviet gulags.

He's sorry if he offended anyone.

He doesn't acknowledge that what he said was objectively wrong.

The fact is that our interrogation tactics are being used against murderers who would murder again if we let them go.

Those who died under Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot were put to death by dictators who were despots and killers.

Get it?

America is not perfect, but America is a lot better than the Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot.

The terrorists want to kill us and we are trying to keep them from doing so, not only by keeping them under control, but finding out who else wants to kill us and stopping them before they do.

That's the moral distinction that Senator Durbin seems to have missed.

His so-called apology, with a few tears thrown in, is about remorse for the political heat it generated, not repentance for having said a wrong thing.

There's a big difference.

I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
