Should Bush Be Investigated?

Some people are treating the suggestion that the Bush administration should be investigated as a lust for blood. I disagree.

In the New York Times, Paul Krugman makes a compelling case for holding a thorough investigation of the Bush years. If such an investigation is not conducted, Krugman writes, "this means that those who hold power are indeed above the law because they don't face any consequences if they abuse their power."

I think it is admirable that the president-elect has said he would consider such an investigation to be counterproductive because "we need to look forward." There is a certain amount of truth in this. There are urgent issues facing the nation — the economy and national security will demand most of the new administration's attention.

And Congress, after years of marching in lockstep behind virtually everything the Bush administration said and did, needs to be involved in the decision-making.

But Krugman is right when he says, "[M]ost of the abuses involved using the power of government to reward political friends and punish political enemies."

It's noble to say, "Forgive and forget." But, as Krugman points out, America did that before — and the second Bush administration put many of the violators from the Reagan-Bush years into positions of power, where they proceeded to commit even worse deeds — which have led this country to the precarious position it now faces.

The decisions that were made have to be examined, if only to learn from those mistakes. Those who do not remember the past, it is said, are condemned to repeat it.

If such an examination yields proof of criminal wrongdoing, that demands criminal prosecution. That's not a pleasant prospect, but the alternative is to accept what Richard Nixon said in his famous interview with David Frost — "If the president does it, that means it is not illegal."

Do we really want a government in which the validity of torture depends upon who is in power? Do we want to exist in a nation where the government can freely reward its supporters, even when those supporters are incompetent, and punish its opponents?

If Congress is to reclaim its independence and authority, it must investigate. This may be viewed as partisan, given the fact that a Democratic Congress would be investigating the members of a Republican administration. But there's a reason why the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in 2006 and built on those majorities in 2008, along with electing a Democrat president — the Republicans in the executive branch mishandled everything after being enabled by the Republicans in Congress.

If those actions can be defended within the framework of our democracy, that's fine. But, if not, the guilty must pay for their crimes.

This is not a case of the victorious taking advantage of the vanquished. It is a matter of accountability.

If America is to remain free, no one must be allowed to be above the law.