Waterboarding crimes should not go unpunished

In 1947, the United States charged a Japanese officer, Yukio Asano, with war crimes for carrying out another form of waterboarding. "Asano was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor." So, 60 years later, is it now not a crime? And if Eric Holder, who believes that waterboarding is torture, becomes Attorney General, does he not have the obligation to try Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush on war crimes?

Cheney's recent remark that waterboarding prisoners in water was a "no-brainer" is a brazen self-indictment and should not be overlooked. It is in absolute violation of the first of the Geneva Conventions, and as Americans, we cannot overlook what happened, or pretend it didn't happen.

There may be a new administration taking charge in two days, but that does not forgive what our outgoing administration had done. If we are to have any legitimacy as a world power going forward, the Obama Administration, specifically the Attorney General's office, must investigate and try those responsible for these war crimes.

For more, read today's Washington Post:


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