Obama did not make any reference to prosecuting the very top officials of the Bush regime. Obama did tell reporters on the 21st that he may support a congressional investigation into the terrorist detainee program. But then he made clear that the investigation would have to be carefully controlled. He said such an investigation would have to be done on a "bipartisan basis" as he feared congressional hearings could impede government efforts to combat terrorism. This is political code for making sure that any investigation is politically controlled so that not too much is revealed that will hurt the current war of terrorism that Obama is now conducting in his role as commander-in-chief.
Obama also said an investigation "outside of the typical hearing process" and with the participation of "independent participants who are above reproach...would probably be a more sensible approach to take." He apparently thinks that this process could be even more controllable than a congressional hearing.
He then stated his typical response for not going after the Bush regime criminals, "As a general view, I do think we should be looking forward, not back. I do worry about this getting so politicized that we cannot function effectively and it hampers our ability to carry out critical national security operations." Obama is making it clear that his chief role is to continue the U.S. war of terror and that he will not tolerate anything that will inhibit this.
This is the bottom line – the war of terror must proceed. Obama is now in command of this war and he will do nothing that will interfere in this war. Besides prosecuting top criminals in the regime will set a bad precedent for top officials in the Obama administration who are now continuing the war begun by the Bush regime. They are now the ones that are responsible for war crimes and other crimes against humanity. Yes Bush and other officials were responsible on their watch, but now Obama and his team are in charge and bear all the criminal responsibility that goes with their actions. That is why we should not expect any real accountability for Bush regime officials to be enforced by Obama and his minions.
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