By Glenn Beck
Host, “Glenn Beck“

Hello America,

As you know, I’ve never served in the military, but I have been honored to meet and get to know many who have. They’ve come from all walks of life — officers and the enlisted..fighting men and women of wars both past and present. While each had unique reasons behind their choice to serve, they all shared one point of view that impressed me above all others.

In a very real sense, none of them wanted to be there. Now let me explain…

There’s an old saying that no one hates war more than a soldier. Think about that…hundreds of thousands of men and women train and prepare their whole careers to protect our country and — if necessary — pay the ultimate price. But…it’s not because they’re itching for a fight.

Before we start indicting, prosecuting or persecuting anyone, we really need to wait for all of the facts to be weighed.

They know the bloody toll of war better than you or I ever will. No, they wear a uniform because they believe that some things in this world are worth fighting and dying for, and someone’s got to do it. They say, “I’ll go…send me.” You may not agree with the politics that send these brave men and women into battle, but you have to respect their commitment and dedication to something larger than themselves. That kind of selflessness is all too rare, especially today.

I bring this up because a firestorm is raging over Bush administration advisers who may or may not have been completely honest, and, as a result, “enhanced interrogation techniques” were used on terror detainees. Before we start indicting, prosecuting or persecuting anyone, we really need to wait for all of the facts to be weighed. There’s no reason to compound one wrong with another. For starters, I know that White House officials, lawyers, and “advisers” aren’t the same as soldiers (even though some of them were), but I believe that we have to give these people the benefit of the doubt. I truly believe that those in the intelligence community and our Department of Defense — whether they were wearing a suit or a uniform — had our country’s security in mind. They are not the military, but in the end they share the same goals — preserve American safety with as few casualties as possible (ours and “theirs.”) I don’t believe that anyone wants to needlessly and senselessly “interrogate” anyone. Americans are tough, but we are not cruel.

The sad reality is, this is a post-9/11 world we’re living in, and tough decisions need to be made. So until all the facts are in about “which” adviser said “what” and “why”…we have to assume the best. Yes, of course I want vigorous and comprehensive inquiry into what happened. And if it turned out that some people lied, I want them held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The thing is…we just don’t know yet.

And then there’s the role President Obama is playing in all of this. He has, once again, reversed his stated position on whether he’d go after senior officials who advised that enhanced interrogation techniques be used. I gotta’ ask…how many times is he going to reverse himself on this? I mean, now he’s saying that those who carried out the operations should be free. So, if you were torturing somebody, you’re off the hook. But, the senior officials who approved the actions of those men–like the Attorney General — well, that’s another story.

Not only is President Obama’s position on this wildly inconsistent, but take a minute and think about this: Given all the tough decisions that the president’s team needs to make, what would it do to a Commander-In-Chief’s ability to make those decisions if as a result the next president could start putting people in jail? Hindsight is 20/20, but you can’t poke the last guy’s eyes out because you see things differently.

• Would Abraham Lincoln be in jail for recommending the suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War?
• Would FDR be behind bars for pushing through the National RecoveryAdministration, which the Supreme Court later struck down most of as unconstitutional?
• Would Harry Truman, his lawyers and advisers…should they have gone to jail for recommending the taking over steel mills which the Supreme Court said was illegal?

Presidents don’t get to only make the easy decisions; they have to make all the decisions with the best information available. So far, all we have is 175 pages of information as to what happened in this case, and when it comes to governmental operations, that’s like a Post-it note. Let’s not rush to judgment.

When it comes right down to it, we’re all on the same team — guys with pens and guys with guns…each has a job to do when it comes to our national security. Thankfully, President Obama hasn’t had to deal with a terrorist attack on our country on his watch (and I pray he nor any other president ever has to). I think George W. Bush and his administration made all kinds of mistakes, but until we know that the improper use of enhanced interrogation techniques was one of them, we must give them the benefit of the doubt. Because President Obama — no one knows what will happen over the next four years, and when you’re out of office, you’ll want the same consideration.