By Bill Quigley

In his memoir (which some wise people have already
moved in bookstores to the CRIME section) George W.
Bush admitted that he authorized that detainees be
waterboarded, tortured, a crime under US and
international law.

Bush's crime confession coincides with reports that no
one will face criminal charges from the US Department
of Justice for the destruction of 92 CIA videotapes
which contained interrogations using waterboarding.

Where is the accountability for these crimes?

Bush and other criminals will be brought to justice if
the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
(ECCHR) have their way.

CCR and ECCHR jointly intervened into a criminal
investigation in Spain examining the role of former
civilian and military officials from the Bush
administration in the commission of international law
violations, including torture.  The investigation is
ongoing and includes the crimes that Bush admitted he
authorized.

CCR and ECCHR made it clear that they are committed to
pursuing criminal accountability and Bush's confessions
help.  In a joint statement they said:

"As Attorney General Eric Holder stated during his
confirmation hearings, waterboarding is torture.
Calling these acts what they are, torture, is not the
result of differing legal `opinion,' as Bush states; it
is a matter of law. Harold Koh, the State Department
Legal Adviser, confirmed this in Geneva last week,
stating during the U.S. Universal Periodic Review that
"the Obama administration defines waterboarding as
torture as a matter of law" and it is not a `policy
choice.'

"There are no circumstances or excuses-including
`national security'-under domestic and international
law that allow for the use of torture. And there is an
obligation to investigate and prosecute torture.

"Bush's decision to authorize torture and other illegal
acts against detainees held in U.S. custody led to the
use of torture at Guantánamo, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
in secret prisons by U.S. forces, and contractors,
certain allies and the national forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan. His decision led to Abu Ghraib.

"Debates as to whether or not waterboarding of
detainees led to intelligence or make the nation
'safer' are not relevant questions. The only valid
question is: can we torture? The answer is no.

"Without accountability it is impossible to ensure that
such actions are never authorized by any future
president or other U.S. official.  No immunity protects
Bush from prosecution for acts which violate federal
and international law. The Pinochet precedent
demonstrates that the law eventually catches up with
former presidents-even those who flout their impunity.

"Bush states that accountability `would set a terrible
precedent for our democracy.'

"We answer that not doing so is failing our
democracy-yet again. We therefore urge the Obama
administration and the Department of Justice to act
upon their recognition that waterboarding is torture as
a matter of law, to investigate and prosecute acts of
torture and other serious violations carried out by
officials of the former administration, including
George W. Bush.

"But we will not wait any longer for the Obama
administration to act-we will continue seeking justice
and accountability under the principle of universal
jurisdiction and as counsel in the ongoing
investigation in Spain."

Sell those books, George W, you may need the money for
legal fees yet!

Bill Quigley is Legal Director of the Center for
Constitutional Rights.