Outrage mounts over Bush's waterboarding confession

After a three-year investigation, President Barack Obama's mantra–"look forward and not backwards"–appears to have trumped the rule of law as a special prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges against the Central Intelligence Agency operatives involved in the destruction of video recordings of interrogations of "war on terror" suspects. The human rights community and many legal scholars from both ends of the political spectrum are up in arms about the decision. And they were further angered by the remarks made by former president George W. Bush during recent television and radio interviews promoting his new memoir, "Decision Points". For example, Bush admitted to Matt Lauer of NBC's "Today" programme that he authorised the use of waterboarding on two CIA prisoners. He said further that the technique was legal and that he would make the same decision again. Lauer then asked him, "Why is waterboarding legal, in your opinion?" Bush responded: "Because the lawyer said it was legal. He said it did not fall within the anti-torture act. I'm not a lawyer. But you gotta trust the judgment of the people around you, and I do." Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, spoke to IPS with a hint of despair. "The failure of DOJ [the Justice Department] to bring criminal charges against the CIA officials who destroyed the tapes of the waterboarding of detainees is another awful decision insuring that the torture conspirators including President Bush will not be held accountable for their crimes - at least not by the Obama administration," he said.