Those of us old enough to remember WWII recall the horror of stories told then about torture.
We recoiled at the way our warriors were treated in prison camps or on forced marches.
We were emotionally stunned when the news described the rescue of innocent victims of horrible imprisonment and worse.
After the war, we thought the trials were just and the war criminal penalties were fair. We thought justice would be served for all time.
We never thought Americans would ever be implicated in the execution of torture, regardless of justification. But damning evidence has emerged, indicating that our government apparently justified torture.
Have our leaders impaired the high ground upon which the Geneva Convention was built to protect our own soldiers?
Will we ignore the mandates of history? America presided over much publicized war criminal trials conducted to prevent abuses against citizens. With that in mind, what do we do now? Do we forget? Postpone? Bury the truth? Prosecute?
This is a milestone we may not be disposed to ignore. History is watching our generation's struggle to decide whether or not to bring actions and motives to the surface. What will generations to come say about what we the people did or did not do to administer justice?
Should the people who decided to use torture be prosecuted now? Investigated?
