NEVER AGAIN. You got that right TheraP.

We really do not know the facts.

What was the extent of the torture?
How many 'prisoners' were sent abroad in some secret prison?
Were any individuals actually killed?

And hundreds of other laws have been broken over the last eight years. Hundreds and hundred have been responsible somewhere along the line.

First we need investigations. And I know we are going to get those investigations.

I completely agree that it is incumbent on the incoming administration to right the wrongs of the previous bunch of rats by prosecuting violations of the law and exposing breaches of Constitutional protections.

One nit:

Such harsh methods were developed at bush's DoD.

The interrogation methods developed at DoD are specified in the Army Field Manual and are not included in what is currently being termed "harsh interrogation techniques".

The controversial techniques (torture) were developed at CIA and other civilian agencies.

That's not to say that I wouldn't consider what's in the AFM harsh...

I guess I'm just a bit touchy about this since it's getting harder and harder to defend my beloved DoD.

Thanks for this, TheraP! I have been feeling more confident lately that an unstoppable momentum toward war crimes prosecutions is building - especially since the release of that Senate report stating clearly that the call for/authorization of torture came from the top of the chain of command, and since Ms. Crawford explicitly used the word "torture" in her decision to stop proceedings against that Guantanamo detainee. But it's not gonna happen unless we keep pushing for it!

Tain't nothing going to happen, nothing, nothing, nothing. I wish the Obama administration would move in that direction. Government would be paralyzed immediately and the damage sensible people anticipate would be more limited. I pray they try to have Nuremberg style trials in the first few weeks of this. Twenty four months would be the effective duration of this hideous administration.

Torture is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the prosecutable crimes of Bush and the chief henchmen in his illegitimate regime. Furthermore, not only does US law require the investigation and prosecution of such matters but so too does international law.

Bush's many crimes with respect to those in the custody of US forces were in blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions Article 3 prohibition of torture. But even more importantly, Obama and his administration should put the full weight of the United States Government behind bringing Bush, and all those who assisted him in the planning of the illegal invasion of Iraq, to trial at the Hague as soon as possible. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and all those directly serving them and General Franks should be included in this, participated in the planning and then execution of a war of aggression against a nation at peace with the United States.

This criminal, illegal war has produced the needless and quite pointless deaths of well over 100,000 human beings. Nearly all of those human beings were civilians. Humanity demands these criminals be brought to justice. If there is to be any hope in the future of the earth in the development of peaceful methods of conflict resolution, it must be made clear to those in power that war is not only unacceptable but illegal. From start to finish, the entire invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States and it's "partners" in crime has been a rolling series of atrocities all of which are utterly shocking to the conscience of civilized men and women.

Those who engage in the bloodthirsty criminal conduct of Bush, Cheney,et al in the future ust understand clearly that the world community will not accept this and that they will answer for their crimes. If we do this, we will have done the entire world and all the humans to come in it, a huge favor. No message could be louder or more effective about the consequences of wars of aggression than prosecuting Bush, Cheney, et al. The war crimes trials in the aftermath of WWII were to serve as that warning but the effect has apparently worn off.

It is high time to arrest, try and dispose of these criminals in accordance with the rules established primarily by the United States in the wake of the atrocities of the German and Japanese war criminals in the 20th Century.

I appreciate your advice. I rarely respond. It's a severe pathology of some type. And, you're correct, there is nothing served by responding.

Peace be with you. And thanks for the good advice. :)