But what about cases in which an instigator openly and notoriously brags about his role in torture? Cheney told Jonathan Karl that he used his position within the National Security Council to advocate for the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques. Former CIA agent John Kiriakou and others have confirmed that when waterboarding was administered, it was only after receiving NSC clearance. Hence, Cheney was not speaking hypothetically but admitting his involvement in the process that led to decisions to waterboard in at least three cases.
What prosecutor can look away when a perpetrator mocks the law itself and revels in his role in violating it? Such cases cry out for prosecution. Dick Cheney wants to be prosecuted. And prosecutors should give him what he wants.
I'm not implying that, in some forgotten cul-de-sac of his twisted soul, Cheney realizes the evil that he's done and wants to be punished for it. I'm suggesting that Cheney a) believes he'll be found not guilty in a trial, and b) knows that a torture trial of the former vice president will completely consume Obama's presidency.
Obama, for his part, almost certainly doesn't consider going after Cheney to be his biggest priority right now.
Me? I believe Cheney has to be tried if the country is ever going to erase that black mark on its soul. And I believe that he will be found guilty if he does go to trial. Which leaves me right back where I started... wondering if there's anything I can do to accelerate the process.
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