This was my comment on Paul Krugman's blog entry today defining moment.  I'll provide the link momentarily.

Tom

My defining moment came during the Vietnam War when I realized the government's explanation of what was happening in Vietnam was not accurate. It was compounded when I found out that Lyndon Johnson had snookered the American people and the Congress with his Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.  It's a shame that during the run-up to the Iraq so many people ignored, ridiculed, and berated those of us who were ware we were being conned.  It's a sad commentary on the level of education in the United States that so many people fell for the Bush/Cheney propaganda line.  However, I'm proud to say that many of my 9th and 10th grade students in 2002-3 were able to correctly analyze Colin Powell's speech to the UN as being inaccurate.  They did this by reading the foreign press online.  Also, let's honor the millions of people around the world who took to the streets on February 15, 2003 to try to prevent Bush's "March to Folly" in Iraq.

Dear Mr. Obama,

I am glad you were elected President.  I worked very hard for you.  However, it is not alright for you to let the people who authorized torture off the hook, because you want to look forward, not backward.  We already know that those who refuse to look backward, don't learn from the past.  George W. Bush was too busy partying in the 1960's to learn the lessons of the Vietnam War. Thus, we got the Iraq invasion There will be a future President who will decide it is OK to break our laws because Bush/Cheney did it with impunity.  Somebody needs to do something to address this situation quickly.  I'm afraid you will dishearten many of your supporters if you don't respond aggressively.