Hopey-Changey for CIA Torturors

They were just following orders:

The Justice Department will not prosecute CIA officers who used harsh interrogation techniques against terrorism suspects, Obama administration officials said this afternoon, as they released four Bush-era legal memos detailing practices that critics have likened to torture. ...

Both Obama and Holder for months have indicated a desire to look forward rather than ignite investigations that could alienate the intelligence community and ignite partisan rancor. "This is a time for reflection, not retribution," Obama said in his statement this afternoon even as he bemoaned the recent passing of a "dark and painful chapter in our history."  ...

"It would be unfair to prosecute dedicated men and women working to protect America for conduct that was sanctioned in advance by the Justice Department," [Attorney General Eric H. ] Holder said in a statement.

For the first time, officials said today that they would provide legal representation at no cost to CIA employees subjected to probes by international tribunals or U.S. congressional inquiries. They also said they would indemnify agency workers against any possible financial judgments.

What makes this decision worse for me is that I agree with it.

Comments

[tomemos]

"What makes this decision worse for me is that I agree with it."

Politically? Morally? Legally?

[Mithras]

Yeah, legally I think it would be difficult to get a conviction because of the existence of the legal memoranda saying the techniques were legal. Politically, I think Obama is correct that prosecutions would just inspire gridlock.

Morality has nothing to do with it.

[tomemos]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Jamie Jamison]

Hey, mithras, long time no talk, man. How's things? Anyway I, too, thought the decision was the right decision to make, and it also left a bad taste in my mouth.

Why would human beings do these things at all? The protection in the military for people following orders has shifted over time, and we have gone from a point where any soldier was expected to do exactly as s/he is told without question to now, where there exists the concept of a 'lawful order', and soldiers are only expected to follow those.

Why does the same concept not apply to the intelligence forces? Now don't get me wrong, I know that these folks spend most of their lives in the grey world, and honestly I'm thankful we have people trying to watch out for us. I guess I could never do it, though, because I couldn't be sure that the ends justified the means.