History will not judge this kindly

Dick Cheney's get out of jail free card includes as its concluding paragraph, the following (emphasis mine):

"Given the paucity of relevant precedent and the subjective nature of the inquiry, however, we cannot predict with confidence whether a court would agree with this conclusion, though, for the reasons explained, the question is unlikely to be subject to judicial inquiry." - Steven G. Bradbury Deputy Assistant Attorney General

I think that that says it all, in a nutshell.

The OLC knew that their analysis was sketchy, at best, but given that none of this was expected to see the light of day, they squinted real hard and pretended that what the war criminals in the White House want to do is perfectly legal.

I am not interested in punishing those CIA officers who perpetrated these acts, they were pawns - though they should have known what they were doing was not only illegal but immoral.

However, under no circumstances should those who either authorized or enabled these acts go unpunished. They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and they should be pilloried. These people have done more to harm and disgrace this nation than any enemy could possibly hope to achieve.

"History will not judge this kindly" - Attorney General John Ashcroft

Never were more prescient words uttered.