Accountablity -- What a concept!

In the heady early and self-conscious accommodation-seeking days of the Obama presidency, we seem to be dancing around the edges of the significant issue which, to my mind, is finding an appropriate way forward to publicly and officially document the abuses of power during the Bush era, whether that goes by the name of unitary executive theory, illegal information gathering, violation of Geneva Convention obligations, or some other.

To me, it's the elephant in the room; the huge sigh of relief that the Bush abomination is over, has given way to a seeming wilful amnesia about just how terrible and, probably illegal, in it's dimensions it was.

Books have begun the documentation, e.g., Jane Mayer's “The Dark Side”. But to have the “system” apply some corrective through public process is another, and potentially much needed and more cathartic and curative approach.

There are so many available avenues for finding a way into examination of the abuses -- with the resultant publication and repudiation of practices via developing massive incriminating material, and maybe jail sentences -- its not for want of targets that formal proceedings haven’t begun, somewhere.

It’s lack of will. Political will for sure. And lack of adequate appraisal of the ethical consequences for failure to act. Oh, and not to forget, setting of future precedent by failure to act.