President Obama has made quite a few dramatic changes in policy and procedure since he took office only three short months ago. From the decision to close Guantanamo Bay, to his economic stimulus plan, to his redesignation of terrorist acts as “man-caused tragedies,” it is clear that, for better or worse, his modus operandi could not be more different from the previous administration’s. Witness one of his latest acts: the release of previously classified CIA interrogation memos that spell out the techniques used to gain information from prisoners. His belief is that these techniques, such as stripping prisoners, forcing them to stand upright or stay awake for long periods of time, preying on their fear of insects, and waterboarding, are torture.

What must it feel like to those CIA employees who have given this country years of faithful service, who have sacrificed their personal safety on a daily basis, who were following orders to the letter, to be told by the President of the United States that they were, in fact, torturing people? Obama believes this so strongly that he is willing to leave the door open for possible prosecution of officials from the Bush administration who gave legal support the use of these techniques. Yet, when he comes face to face with employees at the CIA, he tries to mitigate any fallout from his decision to release the documents by delivering a soothing speech filled with platitudes. He tells them not to be discouraged, that this is a time for “reflection,” and that acknowledging we’ve made “some mistakes” is what makes this country great. But then he reemphasizes the seriousness of the “mistakes” by calling them “part of a dark and painful chapter in our history.” It seems to me that the dark and painful chapter in our history is the 9/11 attacks and their immediate aftermath, when we saw how far-reaching the effects of the tragedy were, both in the loss of life and in the fear and panic the terrorists successfully spread. The fact that we were able to take measures that have since prevented any further attacks, that have bolstered patriotism and begun to restore Americans’ feelings of safety, is a huge victory. By preventing the CIA from using these very successful measures, Obama is making these times far more dangerous. He tells the CIA he is “going to need [them] now more than ever,” but he has taken away their most effective tools. By publicly criticizing them and spelling out the limits of their power, he has made them much weaker when they face our enemies. Furthermore, they must now operate under a continual worry that the procedures they are told to use may at any moment be deemed illegal, and that they could face prosecution for trying to do their job in good faith.

Never mind this insult to some of this country’s most valuable protectors – what are the implications of this act for this country’s safety? Obama’s CIA chief, along with the four chiefs who came before him, all opposed the release of these documents on the grounds that it would damage national security. On the other hand, Rahm Emanuel, his chief of staff, said that releasing these documents would “enhance America’s image abroad.” Emanuel has a Master’s in Speech and Communication and has worked in politics ever since he graduated from college, so perhaps this does make him a good judge of America’s image. But shouldn’t he be more concerned with America’s safety? Rather than debating the culpability of the people who were at least trying to get information to prevent further attacks, we should be far more concerned with the culpability of the individuals who orchestrated them. Instead, we are trying to improve our image in their eyes. This type of backwards thinking will only encourage them and make us less and less able to protect ourselves. This ridiculous obsession with our own alleged culpability is going to find us sitting on our hands, completely defenseless the next time we have an attack. In fact, this is exactly why a misfit band of teenage pirates from Somalia was able to hold off the United States Navy for four days.

If this country is to remain safe, our enemies must believe that if we are threatened, we are capable of using any means necessary to defend ourselves. The only deterrent to their attacks is their belief – quickly fading now – that we are bigger, stronger, and more powerful than they are. Our enemies are violent, and their violence is encouraged and legitimized by their religion. They have no internal moral compass that we can hope to tap into through tactful diplomacy, kind requests, or pleas for what we consider reasonable behavior. But by releasing these documents, Obama seems to be saying that the measures we use to protect and defend this country should be so inoffensive that the entire country should know about them and feel comfortable with them. Could he really be this naive? What sort of kind and respectful questioning does he imagine will work on the likes of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?

Thanks to Obama’s foreign policy techniques, we no longer display an attitude of righteous anger about the attacks on our country; instead we appear to be humble, even repentant. We seem to be seriously considering the possibility that our national behavior and image may have contributed to our being attacked. This ridiculous attitude that he projects is only making us weaker in the eyes of the militant extremists who already despise us. Their goal is to demoralize us, frighten us, and ultimately destroy us, and actions like this from our president are making their job that much easier.