It's a good thing to hope for and most Americans think the judicial branch is some kind of check and balance when it comes to rights violations. Just like most airmen think an IG complaint has actual power. But the reality, as is so often the case, is it's just for show to present an appearance. Inspector Generals work for the commander, and the judiciary works for the same forces that own our government.
A lawsuit would be doomed to fail unless the oligarchs wanted to increase the perception of justice and let off some steam from the mob. The DoD can't be prosecuted since it's government. Individuals could be, but they won't be since they were following orders from civilian leadership. American citizens could sue DoD individuals in a civil suit but the tyrannical court-made-up theory of "qualified immunity" would mean the most you could hope for is the judiciary ruling "yup, your rights were violated but you still lose the lawsuit." Even if a civil suit were to succeed (and it woudln't), any money would be paid by the taxpayers.
Our system has been rendered incapable of holding government accountable. The Third Branch of government is used against the American citizen and not against government actors. Sorry to rain on your parade because it's a parade I'd love to attend.
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Here's a conclusion we agree upon 100%. It's not just that the judiciary is useless to the ordinary citizen, it's that the entire concept of seeking remedies for wrongs via an impartial legal process is dying if not already dead. One more way we have lost confidence in our institutions. Then again, we're the ones who have torn them down, so we shouldn't be surprised.
ReplyDeleteOne curiosity. Who are the "forces that own our government" you mention?
I wish I knew who the forces were, but I don't. I also don't know if there is an org chart with clean lines, or if there are various oligarchs or elites that are sparring and fighting it out (I suspect that is more the case). But it is apparent to me that our government serves something other than the American people and even the assumption of "national interest" has to be thrown out the window.
DeleteTransnational corporations seem likely.