Basic summary: President Obama just released memos from the Bush administration that allowed the use of waterboarding and other physical abuse. Of course, we already know the U.S. tortured in Abu Ghraib, but the Bush administration said that was not representative. The memos show that some prisoners were waterboarded more than 180 times. It's also important to note that this was during the period where the administration was looking for "evidence" to tie Iraq to Al-Qaeda, because they wanted an excuse to go to war in Iraq.
Now, torture is illegal in America. So there have long been calls from Democrats to prosecute people in the Bush administration who ordered torture. Obama has distanced himself from this, saying he prefers to look forward and wants to avoid a "witch-hunt." But he also appeared to leave the question open, saying that his attorney general should make the decision.
Now, Democratic congressmen are pushing for an investigation.
I understand that almost everyone here probably wants the Bush administration prosecuted and thrown in jail for what they did (me included). My question is, how realistic is this? Obama has the support of a little over 60% of the country—it's a lot for a president, but America is deeply divided. It may not be politically possible for Obama to spearhead an inquiry and prosecute Bush-era torturers—should he try anyway?
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