A Fragment on Torture

Hlzoy and Glenn Greenwald and others are doing a superb job of staying on the issue of possible prosecution for those who left their fingerprints on the late administration's policy of torture.  I won't presume to track all they are saying, but I will offer one thought: if we are going forward with prosecutions, let's make sure we will focus on something other than the mugs on the front line.   Let's make a general rule: heads near the top of the totem pole must roll, or no heads may roll at all.

The relevant example is Abu Ghraib.  If Wiki has it right, one general (a woman) got her library card suspended busted to colonel. A couple of colonels drew some brisk slaps on their wrists. But for the brass, that was the end of it.

Meanwhile, seven grunts went to the stony lonesome. Let's stipulate that these are adults we are talking about, old enough to be responsible for their own conduct. Let's stipulate also that they are a pretty sorry lot: in particular, Charles Graner, who seems to have been a kind ring-leader, appears to be a specially unpleasant piece of business (though apparently it did not prevent him from impregnating one of his colleagues and marrying another; women like bad-news guys).

Let's stipulate all of this but let's remember also: there is an issue of leadership reponsibility here.  Granted that the defendants were all adults, still they were by every account unsophisiticated, gullible and lacking in any kind of foundation that you might expect them to need to make right decisions.  The Army  knew that, or had every reason to.  The Army took them, and the Army took on the responsibility to make sure they did not misbehave.  And the civilians who are responsible for the Army fall into the same bin.

It is commonly said that criminals are mostly pretty dumb.  I have said so myself, but I want to revise the point: dumb criminals are dumb, and wind up going to jail, often for conduct that was engineered by others.   Smart sociopaths learn to avoid the vulgarity of mere crime; learn to work in the white space around the letter of the law, and to let others do their dirty work while they stay back with the brandy and cigars (recall that nobody can document Hitler ever saying "go kill all the Jews."  Of course that is exactly what he wanted, but he knew how to make it happen without ever leaving a pheremone behind).

Smart sociopaths are, correspondingly, desperately difficult to convict.  So be it.  But let's make a deal with ourselves: if it is clear that we cannot get somewhere near the top of the chain of command, let's let it go.  Let's promise ourselves not to try to delude our conscience by hanging out to dry some of the mules who ought to have known better, but who did not know better, while letting the chariot drivers whirl away.