"What have we become?"

OPOL (One Pissed Off Liberal) has a post up today titled "Just Following Orders." I commend it to your attention.

It includes a pertinent reminder for us all:

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

United Nations Convention Against Torture

OPOL has some comments (with which I concur):

Damn them! Damn them all - every last one of them who ordered, excused or participated at any level in torture. There is no excusing it. They should be investigated, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law. There should be no exceptions. Period.

The very thought that we would let them get away with this is repugnant. What have we become? We executed Germans and Japanese for acts such as these. ‘Just following orders’ was deemed to be no excuse at all. Now we’re just going to look the other way because it’s our guys doing the torture? How can anybody be okay with this? How can we let this stand?

...

If these crimes go unpunished, no one will ever again be safe from the possibility of torture - not our soldiers and not our citizens. The USA no longer has a moral leg to stand on when it comes to opposing anyone’s torture by foreign governments or from any other party. And if our government can torture foreign nationals with impunity, who’s to say that they cannot do the same to American citizens? No one, that’s who.

It is up to the American People to insist that investigations take place and action taken. We must make the White House and Congress do what is right.

--the BB