Guantanamo

Because of Philippe Sands, a London-based international criminal lawyer and professor, American wheels of justice have begun to grind in the direction of the nation's most senior lawyers; the men who designed and then covered up the legal authorization for the use of torture by the U.S. Military. After testifying on Capitol Hill to Rep. John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee, Philippe Sands joined Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (ret.) and me to explain, examine and discuss what exactly happened, and the burgeoning case against the lawyers for Secretary of State Don Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, CIA Director George Tenet, and President George W. Bush.

Drawing from his recently-released book, Torture Team, and his article in this month's issue of Vanity Fair, Philippe revealed a powerful indictment of the actions of the White House from 2001-2006. For the full event video, click here.

Ultimately, however, the question of accountability for these actions, which Supreme Court Justice Kennedy wrote may amount to "war crimes," in his 2006 concurring Hamdan opinion, must be complemented with a robust new committment to stregthen the American system against future perversions of America's considerable power.

Col. Wilkerson, in his remarks, discussed one such option that would restore balance within America's national security architecture . In short, he would promote the Assistant Secretaries of State for each region of the world to Under Secretary of State, send them out of Foggy Bottom and into the field and then make the regional combattant commander, (CENTCOM, SOUTHCOM, PACOM, etc.) report to the Under Secretary of State for that region. Col. Wilkerson, of course, makes the point more eloquently:

The New Yorker (4/21) asks Parag Khanna about the end of autonomy for Western nations.
The Guardian (4/12) quotes Flynt Leverett on Gordon Brown's low U.S. profile.
Congressional Quarterly (4/11) talks with Peter Bergen on the threat from al-Qaeda.
Asharq Alawsat (4/10) listens to a New America delegation to Saudi Arabia talking about Guantanamo Bay.

Tonight, Frontline airs Part II of Bush's War on PBS. With interviews from our own Steve Coll and Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, the show promises the most in-depth look at the decisions that brought us to the five year anniversary of the invasion. Click on the image below to view Part I, available online now.