It will be very interesting to see what happens in the near future regarding the torture issue.  After the release of previously classified documents detailing brutal interrogation techniques, the uproar in the U.S. (and abroad) has intensified; people are calling for the heads of members of the Bush Administration on a platter.  Obama has stated publicly that those who committed acts of torture (with orders from above) should be exempted from prosecution, but the officials who wrote legal documents okaying the use of torture may be prosecuted if Attorney General Holder decides to do so.

I think this makes a lot of sense.  People like John Yoo used their positions in the Justice Department to write legal memos that, while clearly against American ideals and mostly illegal, gave dubious guidelines on how to interpret laws. This resulted in the egregious overstepping of humanitarian boundaries that are a core part of the agenda of the U.S. , and now someone has to pay.  The interrogators themselves shouldn’t be prosecuted; while their actions were morally bereft and cast a shadow upon their country, they were acting within guidelines sent from above that classified questionable techniques (such as waterboarding) as legal.  It is far more important to set an example within the government, discouraging abuses of power like those committed under the Bush Administration.

Only time will tell if justice is done; if it isn’t, then this issue of morality will fall on Obama’s lap, and he will have to share the burden with his predecessor.