What happens next?

What happens next?

The Bush administration said it stopped waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods after information about them was leaked to the public, and many people became upset. Some in the Bush administration say they regret getting involved in torture. Others, including Vice President Cheney, say that the methods worked in getting information from prisoners. But many experts say that torture does not work because people will say anything to get the torture to stop. Even if it worked, do you think they should have used those methods?

The question that President Obama must deal with is what to do about the officials in the previous administration who may be guilty of wrongdoing. But that list could involve a lot of people, from President Bush and Vice President Cheney all the way down to those who carried out the interrogations. It could also include members of Congress who were told about the program but did nothing to stop it.

President Obama has said that he wants to look forward, not backward. But he has also said that he will let U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decide if crimes were committed. What do you think of the quote by Jonathan Turley here? Would it be wrong not to investigate possible war crimes? According to one poll, most Americans think there should be some kind of investigation of the people involved. Thirty-eight percent said there should be a criminal investigation, which means the people involved could be charged with crimes. Twenty-four percent said there should be an independent investigation. This could be a kind of "truth commission" where investigators question everyone to find out what happened, but people may or may not be punished. What do you think is the best thing for President Obama to do next? Do you think members of the Bush administration should be investigated and punished if they were involved with torture?