Written by David Desautel   

As an American citizen and a Vietnam veteran, I was disgusted and ashamed when I found out that the United States was using torture and committing war crimes. In fact, the entire reaction to 9/11 was more like a scared, running rabbit than the greatest nation on earth. You do NOT defend freedom and liberty by giving them up, and you do NOT defend your ideals by abandoning them. And, you do NOT show the world that you are a nation of laws by not prosecuting those who commit war crimes. In my opinion, the Bush Administration’s actions in response to 9/11, under the guise of a “War on Terror,” multiplied the damage done to America on 9/11 by a thousand. For 7 years after 9/11, I could just envision Osama bin Laden wringing his hands gleefully as he watches the Bush Administration tarnish and destroy the very things that have made America unique – honor, integrity, and doing what is right.

So, now Osama is gone, and the perpetrators of war crimes are running around trying to claim that the “enhanced interrogation techniques” worked and should be given credit for finally getting Bin Laden. The Cheneys have been on all the Sunday shows saying just that, and the conversation everywhere is about how effective torture is or is not.

Well, that conversation is completely irrelevant. Genocide, weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons, and terrorism itself all may be very effective in hurting or destroying your enemy, but they are internationally illegal and just should not, can not, be done. Being effective does not make them legal or right. And finding some scumbag lawyer to rewrite and abusively interpret law to allow you to do something illegal does not make your actions right or legal.

So, instead of everyone discussing how effective or ineffective torture is, why aren’t we prosecuting the war criminals who tortured prisoners in the name of you and I?

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