War criminal George W. Bush still at large

By Robert Romano
The Guardsman

If George W. Bush were arrested and prosecuted for the war crimes committed during his time in office, it would show the world that America can hold powerful government figures accountable for crimes the same way it does ordinary citizens.

Trevor Case, an ordinary citizen from Lancaster, Calif., was arrested after allegedly waterboarding his girlfriend, Danielle Stallworth on Oct. 28 of this year.

Moises Cotto, an ordinary citizen and pastor from New Jersey, was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and forcing teenage members of his congregation to photograph him in sexual positions and pose naked in photographs with him.

Cotto’s despicable acts are mirror images of the torture that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq from 2004 to 2006. As photographic evidence shows, interrogators from the United States Military forced prisoners to pose in sexual positions for their own amusement.

At the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, supposed al-Qaida member Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded. He was tied down, his nose and mouth were wrapped in plastic, and water was poured down his throat—simulating drowning.

Even though it was eventually determined that Zubaydah was not connected to al-Qaida, nor was he involved in any terrorist attacks, he is still in custody in Guantanamo Bay.

In Bush’s 2010 memoir “Decision Points,” when asked by the CIA for approval to waterboard detainees, he replied, “Damn right.” He added,”No doubt the procedure was tough, but medical experts assured the CIA that it did no lasting harm.”

I’m sure plenty of lasting harm was done to Zubaydah, who has been held without charge since 2002.

Meanwhile, President Obama is sending the message that like Bush, he is above the law.

In February 2008 Obama said, in a flourish of rhetorical doublespeak, “Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.”

Mr. President, please don’t include me in your moral compass. My moral compass points me in the direction of taking action and defending the rights of others.

By not taking leadership and prosecuting George W. Bush and his cronies, Obama confirms that change is nothing more than belief and hope.

The next time someone asks you, “Whats up?” respond, “I am in danger of losing everything. At any minute my government can detain me and torture me… but besides that, I’m fine.”