We can't prosecute only 'small frys'

[struggle4progress]

At a Senate hearing last week, Attorney General John Ashcroft claimed that President Bush never ordered torture in connection with abusive interrogations of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan and violated no criminal laws of the United States. But the attorney general did not describe what the president did order with respect to these interrogations - and he refused to turn over key documents to the Senate.

The attorney general's self-serving sweeping denial disqualifies him from investigating and holding accountable those responsible for these interrogations. Ashcroft should appoint a special prosecutor to do so.
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The possibility of prosecution must have haunted President Bush's chief lawyer, White House counsel Alberto Gonzales. In order to reduce ''the threat`` of prosecution for the brutal interrogations of Taliban and al-Qaida members, Gonzales urged Bush (in a January 2002 memo) to opt out of the Geneva Conventions for the war in Afghanistan. Although Gonzales doesn't mention that top officials could be targets of prosecutions under the War Crimes Act, plainly that is his concern. The president followed his advice.

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Bush must stop claiming that the problems lie with just a few bad apples. That is simply not true. We know that orders for inhuman treatment came directly from Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top military officer in Iraq. But we don't yet know where he got his orders. Similarly, the president should disclaim the contention that his powers as commander in chief override U.S. criminal laws; it smacks of President Nixon's unsuccessful claim of ''national security`` during the Watergate scandal, and is baseless.
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http://www.decaturdailydemocrat.com/articles/2004/06/21/news/opinion/editorial03.txt

Great commentary from former congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman!