My cousin was wounded in Iraq. In May 2005. He almost died.
Two of his best friends died in that bombing. It wouldn't have happened if Gore had been elected. It might not have happened had Kerry been elected. That's why political decisions must be made in the interests of the country. I'd love to see the MONSTERS who I blame for my cousin going to the brink of death rot in a cell forever. God damn, I would. But you know what? That wouldn't happen. You know why? Because the second a Republican president got in office they'd be flying free as a bird. If they were convicted. Which would be hard to do, considering they could easily convince about half of the country that they were trying to make the best decisions for national security. It's incredibly hard to prosecute a government official.
It's also unpopular. A huge amount of Americans hate George Bush. A larger amount hate Dick Cheney. If polled today, we might even get a majority saying they should be prosecuted. But apart from Kos members, the anti-war movement, and a significant amount of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, that support is a mile wide and an inch deep. Nobody likes to see legal affairs. And PR firms are very good at making things seem politically motivated. The amount of time it would take for "Justice Department appoints special prosecutor to investigate Bush Administration war crimes" into "Obama releases lawyers on Bush Administration officials trying to protect their country" would be days to weeks.
And then, there could be a backlash against Obama. It could be his version of the Monica Lewinsky affair. It could lead to a Republican president, with a Republican Congress. And Iran could get the bomb. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe Israel attacks its nuclear facilities and it retaliates. A Republican isn't going to waste any time in attacking them. And then we're in an even larger quagmire, against a stronger state, in a country which doesn't even have a brutal dictator to liberate them from. Iran's not much of a democracy, but it's certainly yards away from Saddam's Iraq.
We'd be there for years.
And many would die.
For your rule of law.
Yes, this is political. If the country would be guaranteed not to backlash against the Obama Justice Department and if we could guarantee that the Democrats would stay in power then I would support you guys with all my heart. Believe me. I will never forgive Bush, Cheney and his cronies for what they did to my cousin, and his friends, and I would like to see them rot away. But politics is important. I never want to see another war like the ones we have had, so senseless. I know that justice is important. Peace is important as well. Lives are important. In the greater scheme of things, I think the potential lives are more important.