Dawn Johnsen's Confirmation In Doubt

Greenwald sighs:

The objections over Johnsen's involvement in NARAL are quite obviously pure pretext since NARAL's positions are squarely within the mainstream of abortion views and Johnsen was previously the acting OLC chief under Clinton without any objections; what changed, clearly, are both the tone and substance of her objections to Bush radicalism and lawbreaking.

What we are all learning is the interest of a government, including a military, that is naturally dedicated to protecting itself. It is one thing to change direction; it is another thing to hold the past accountable - because you need the same people to carry on the war and defend the country. It is increasingly obvious that isolating and cauterizing the damage Bush and Cheney did without wounding ourselves is very hard. And so the advocates for real change and accountability have to go through this buzz-saw of resistance. Obama wasn't kidding when he said it wouldn't be easy. The fate of Dawn Johnsen will tell us a lot about the seriousness of the change.