A Truth Commission for the Bush Era? (NYT)

[struggle4progress]

... First, Find Out What Happened
David Cole ... As a legal matter, we are compelled to investigate by the Convention Against Torture, a binding treaty, that requires its signatories to investigate and refer for possible prosecution credible evidence of torture under their jurisdiction ...

We Need a Special Counsel
Michael Ratner ... The Obama administration should carry out its legal obligations by directing the Department of Justice to appoint a special or independent counsel to investigate the actions of the Bush administration. Other politically sensitive cases have gone this route. Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed to investigate the outing of C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame, and Lawrence Walsh was appointed to investigate the Iran-contra scandal ...

Other Nations May Investigate
Margaret L. Satterthwaite ... If the United States ignores these obligations, former U.S. officials may be vulnerable to criminal prosecution in other countries. Under the “universal jurisdiction” principle, countries could use their own criminal systems to prosecute individuals for torture. Such attempts — though embarrassing—would have a limited concrete impact, however, since former officials could avoid the reach of foreign courts by curbing travel ...

Flexibility With Truth Commissions
Jenny S. Martinez ... By the same token, creating a truth commission also need not imply that no one will ever be criminally prosecuted. In fact, truth commissions in several countries, such as Chile, Uruguay, Peru and East Timor have had the power to and in some cases actually forwarded cases to prosecutors (actual prosecutions, however, have not always been forthcoming). In Argentina, the truth commission report on disappearances released in 1984 opened the door for criminal trials of members of the junta in 1985. Even the South African commission, which famously granted amnesty to perpetrators, only made those grants to those who gave full and truthful accounts ...

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/a-truth-commission-for-the-bush-era/?hp