Bush and His Cronies Bear 'Ultimate Responsibility' for Torture -- So What's Stopping

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/bush-and-his-cronies-bear-ultimate-responsibility-torture-so-whats-stopping-us

Bush and His Cronies Bear 'Ultimate Responsibility' for Torture -- So What's Stopping Us from Prosecuting Them?

Now that a bipartisan blue-ribbon panel has reached the conclusion that President George W. Bush and his top advisers bear “ultimate responsibility” for authorizing torture in violation of domestic and international law, the question becomes what should the American people and their government do.

The logical answer would seem to be: prosecute Bush and his cronies (or turn them over to an international tribunal if the U.S. legal system can’t do the job). After all, everyone, including President Barack Obama and possibly even Bush himself, would agree with the principle that “no man is above the law.”

At least that is what they profess in public, but they then apply this principle selectively, proving that they don’t really mean it at all. The real-world standard seems to be: you are above the law if you have the political or economic clout to make prosecution difficult or painful. Then, more flexible rules apply.

For instance, we’re told that Pvt. Bradley Manning may have had good intentions in exposing U.S. government wrongdoing to WikiLeaks, but he still must be punished for taking the law into his own hands. The only question seems to be whether he should be imprisoned for 20 years or life.

[djean111]

1. Are we still torturing people?

To me, that is the crux of the matter. If we are, then prosecution does not stop with Bush.
Manning exposed what is actually going on - that is his crime. Being a whistle-blower is not welcomed by any administration.

[xchrom]

2. if we are -- we're outsourcing it. clean hands, see? nt

[onpatrol98]

3. This a non-starter...

Republicans approved of these behaviors as we howled about them. Unfortunately, now with a democratic president, we've actually continued some horrors and expanded others. After all, these people walked away alive after torture. We're currently funding warlords, have more drone killings, and have expanded into more locations around the world. On some fronts, Obama has been worse than Bush.

If you don't plan on prosecuting Obama, and I don't, it's best to let Bush crawl away into a convenient little hole...quietly.

We've been compromised. It's wrong no matter who occupies the White House. But, there is no way the current administration is going to want a spotlight right now. And any talk of prosecuting Bush, is going to open up an interesting little discussion of current policies. And, if you do a little research...we've got some dreadful little quiet policies. We should be thanking our lucky stars for a friendly media. Or for short memories...Or, for a lack of a moral compass.

[xchrom]

4. dems are compromised -- they have expanded the 'off the books' wars.

and we seem incapable in this age of critiquing and holding responsible our own.

[MotherPetrie]

5. Obama and Holder are deliberately setting the precedent of having no problem with it.

[xchrom]

6. so did pelosi. -- what a sad day that was. nt

[MotherPetrie]

7. It really was shameful of her.