I find it hard to believe that we as American citizens are even we Kossacks are actually having discussions on whether or not an "investigation" should be done into "possible" war crimes by our government.
If we have "investigations" that do not lead to prosecutions, then they better not find any violations of the Geneva Convention or the any other treaty entered into by the United States against torture. If these investigations result is anything else, we have to prosecute.
The reasons for this are many, but include (1) some countries comply with the Geneva conventions not out of some sense of good will, but due to the fear of the global political repercussions they would face should they fail to live up to these globally recognized conventions, (2) The U.S. does not torture, and for this reason, hundred if not thousands of U.S. military lives are saved when enemies surrender to us rather knowing they will be treated humanely... Do we really want to jeopardize this internationally recognized reputation for treatment of our enemies?, and (3) If we don't even punish those guilty of violations of human rights treaties, what amount of respect should be give to economic treaties, whose violation is far less important a mark of integrity on a global scale??????
(more after the fold)
We already have public admissions on many fronts, along with historic facts which could be compiled rather than wasting everyone's time with an "investigation" into the legality of the actions taken in our name. I'll give the Committee (and hopefully the D.O.J.) a head start:
The D.O.J. officials from the previous administration including Bybee, Yoo, and others sanctioned the use of waterboarding as a legitimate form of interrogation of prisoners being held by the United States of America.
The practice of waterboarding was used in interrogation of prisoners held by the United States of America by those working for the United States of America. (sorry, but you'll have to take my word on this one if you haven't been keeping up)
This practice was approved by individuals who had or had the duty to have knowledge that it had previously been used to convict our enemies, our soldiers and even a local sheriff in 1983 of violations of the law.
The United States Military has convicted several U.S. Soldiersfor "maltreatment of detainees"for acts far less shocking to the conscience than waterboarding as recently as 2005.
There is no need for an "investigation". The facts are laid bare for all to see. If we fail to prosecute, we have done a disservice not only to America, but to global diplomacy.
And yet here we sit, discussing whether or not investigating the upholding long standing international standards in the face of overwhelming evidence of direct violations of law is a "policy difference". The Criminal case has been made, no investigation is necessary. The only possible result from an investigation would be to further shame our country internationally for allowing these acts to go unpunished, and to weaken the international treaties that have acted to prevent exactly the abuses we should be prosecuting. What is wrong with us people?