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Now, if another nation asked, "How has America punished the people responsible for the torture of prisoners?"; we would have to answer, "We ignore most of them, but the worst of them--the ones who authorized the torture--we provide them with Secret Service protection, a generous pension, and let them collect fees for giving speeches about the noble things they have done".
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This was not a case of a few bad apples at the bottom of the chain of command. This involved people in the highest positions of the Bush Administration--meeting, discussing and approving interrogation techniques that have long been considered torture by the civilized nations of the world (including the United States, before George W. Bush threw the Geneva Conventions into the crapper and allowed Vice Pres. Darth Cheney to take America over to the "dark side".)
This is why it is so important that we hold George W. Bush and his co-conspirators responsible for the crimes they have committed. Either the United States of America is a nation of laws, or it is not. Either it is a nation where no one is above the law; or it is a nation of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy--where the rest of us are allowed to shut-up and do what we are told.
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Right now, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is considering the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture during the Bush Administration. That makes this the perfect time to call the Attorney General's office (202-514-2001) and your Senators and Representative (202-224-3121). Tell them we need a special prosecutor with broad powers to investigate any and all crimes (not just torture) committed during the Bush Administration (spying on Americans, war crimes, falsifying the reasons for war, etc). It is time to quit pretending that a crime is not a crime--just because President Bush authorized it.
We must admit our mistakes and hold the guilty accountable for the crimes--no matter who they are. Until then, there should be no more mention of America's "moral authority" or "setting the standard"; because it will sound as ridiculous as saying "We do not torture", when the whole world knows we do.
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As far as Private Bergdahl is concerned, we can only hope and pray for his safe return and that his captors treat him better than the Bush Administration treated its prisoners.
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