Reactionary Politics and the Rule of Law

Abstract

The history of the United States is laced with episodes of torture at home and abroad. But prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there was no such thing as a pro-torture constituency. Today, that is categorically untrue because more than half of the American public would endorse or accept the use of torture to “keep Americans safe”. Rick Abel’s two volumes provide an encyclopedic analysis about how this happened. My comments focus on why this happened and how Abel’s books can be resources to fight back.