Should Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Be Prosecuted?

Watching TV and reading some other places I find there is quite a fury rising wanting to prosecute Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld for war crimes and other criminal acts such as torture. It is quite a question to ask. It has incredible repercussions.

On one side is the idea that such action will make a clear statement to the world that we do have a certain moral position that we are willing to uphold.

On the other side, which Obama/Biden seem to be taking, is the feeling that we need to move on- look to the future, not the past.

(This of course does not take into account those who believe Bush et al. were within legal rights to do what they did.)

Don't be surprised if the Senate confirmation hearings of the Attorney-General Designate don't land on this issue. It could be quite a show.

I must admit to mixed feelings. And my reasoning goes back to Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon before Nixon was even indicted for anything wrong. Ford took a great deal of political heat for his stance and it may even have been a significant factor in his loss to Jimmy Carter in 1976. Ford always believed that he did the right thing for the country. We were a battered nation, internally. The whole Watergate mess coming on top of the Vietnam War debacle, mixed in with assassinations and many other things now relegated to distant memory had turned our national psyche into a case study of social PTSD.

Ford felt that a trial of a former president of the United States would do more harm than good. It would stir up dirt and anger and feelings galore. It was better, he reasoned, to pardon Nixon and put it behind us.

I have a feeling he was right. History seems to have shown that anger and a desire for revenge against the "I-am-not-a-crook" crook would probably have been counter-productive and would have only served to further divide the nation even more than it continued to be. It was a brave political act on Ford's part and may have been the right one.

President-elect Obama is in a similar situation. He is trying to bring the nation together. He is trying to build a bigger tent for more people to be able to work together for the best interests of the country. He will do controversial things. The decision to have Rick Warren pray at the inauguration was one. (Not a move I support.) So, probably, may be the one to have Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson pray on Sunday. (Good move, by the way.) Obama is trying to enfold many different people and perspectives into his plans is admirable.

He may very well have to ignore Bush et. al''s crimes. He may have to decide whether the nation's healing is based on getting even with Bush et. al. for what they have done to the Constitution and our armed forces and our world-wide street cred. Or is it based on forgiveness and righting what was done wrong. There are many arguments on this one. It will not be an easy choice.

I hope he makes the right one, which, unfortunately as in the Ford-Nixon pardon may not be known for another 30 years.