Yours Is No Disgrace

From the NYTimes:

Seymour Hersh, in his forthcoming book, says:

"the roots of the Abu Ghraib scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in the reliance of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld on secret operations and the use of coercion - and eye-for-eye retribution - in fighting terrorism."

also from the NYTimes:

The first American military intelligence specialist to stand trial in connection with the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison pleaded guilty here on Saturday to abusing prisoners.

The Nuremburg Defense won't work this time. The perpetrators, at the lowest level, will be made to pay. No longer can they claim "My Commanding Officer made me do it." Everyone responsible, from the lowest enlisted person, to the next lowest enlisted person, will be tried, and convicted. This time they can't blame it on their bosses. Their steely eyed civilian bosses, who had lawyers write memos defining torture as "pain associated with organ failure." These civilian bosses, who, at the highest levels, "were repeatedly warned by subordinates in 2002 and 2003 that prisoners in military custody were being abused."

Indeed. Truth, justice, and the American way.