Torture and the law

MANIFESTO

While I won't descend to the level of comparing Bushies to Nazis (The wingnuts have the corner on that in their analogies to the current administration.), it nevertheless might be instructive to remember that Nuremberg trials were held specifically for German judges who were "held responsible for implementing and furthering the Nazi 'racial purity' program through the eugenic and racial laws."

I'm reminded of this because it appears that the Obamans might be backtracking a bit on what appeared to be the all-inclusive statements of the weekend. Viz.,

On Sunday, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said on the ABC News program This Week that "those who devised policy" also "should not be prosecuted." But administration officials said Monday that Mr. Emanuel had meant the officials who ordered the policies carried out, not the lawyers who provided the legal rationale.

Three Bush administration lawyers who signed memos, John C. Yoo, Jay S. Bybee and Steven G. Bradbury, are the subjects of a coming report by the Justice Department's ethics office that officials say is sharply critical of their work. The ethics office has the power to recommend disbarment or other professional penalties or, less likely, to refer cases for criminal prosecution.

So perhaps the philosophy of more than sixty years ago will prevail: that the sanctioners, and not only the implementers, are also miscreants in the episode.