Prosecution Is Needed to Regain Moral Compass

Beginning with TV shows like "24" and continuing more recently with films like Zero Dark Thirty, the powers that be have brought torture into mainstream conversation, apparently attempting to normalize torture. Now, the torture-enablers are going further, and are seeking exoneration and vindication at the bar of history.

Torture is a crime that cannot be legalized away. Torture is as depraved as slavery or rape - all are simply wrong. No amount of rationalization by lawyers or assessments by psychologists can make rape, slavery or torture right. Unless the United States wants to follow Dick Cheney to the dark side, it's time to prosecute those responsible.

Encouragingly, there have been increasing calls for prosecution. The best way to make this happen is to start with the attorneys, because partisan mud-slinging would follow any attempted prosecution of Cheney or Bush and would cloud the issues. Prosecution of the attorneys who worked at the Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC) would avoid some of this, as OLC attorneys are nonpartisan and are specifically tasked with "providing authoritative legal advice" to the president.

OLC attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee are the lawyers primarily responsible for implementing the Bush administration's detention, rendition and torture programs. This has been proven through numerous investigations, including these UN Concluding Observations; the Senate Intelligence Committee Report; the CIA's own internal investigation conducted by the CIA Inspector General; the Senate Armed Services Committee Report; the European Court of Human Rights; the tribunal in Kuala Lampur, and more. Yoo and Byee should be the initial focus of investigation and prosecution.

Yoo and Bybee Memos Identified by the UN-CAT

Considering that the UN uses diplomatic speech only, the UN-CAT Concluding Observations are perhaps equivalent to pointing a finger at Yoo and Bybee, jumping up and down and yelling "they did it!"

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