I do not recall "Saddam gassing his own people" a justification or a reason cited for our attacking Iraq.

It is entirely possible that the invasion has caused at least as much harm to Iraq and the Iraqis as Saddam.

When a liar like Cheney can look into a television camera and state flat out that Saddam has WMD and then proceed to launch an invasion costing thousands of lives and many, many more wounded and displaced Americans and Iraqis one has to remain focused on why we were lied to and not wander off into the wilderness of everything else that Saddam has done. Remember Cheney (or was it Rumsfeld?) shaking Saddams hand?

Obama' reference to Winston Churchill's position on torture may be inferred here:

"You might however consider whether you should not unfold as a background the great privilege of habeas corpus and trial by jury, which are the supreme protection invented by the English people for ordinary individuals against the state. The power of the Executive to cast a man in prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government, whether Nazi or Communist."

"It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed."

"It is the habit of the boa constrictor to besmear the body of his victim with a foul slime before he devours it; and there are many people in England, and perhaps elsewhere, who seem to be unable to contemplate military operations for clear political objects, unless they can cajole themselves into the belief that their enemy are utterly and hopelessly vile… This may be very comforting to philanthropic persons at home; but when an army in the field becomes imbued with the idea that the enemy are vermin who cumber the earth, instances of barbarity may very easily be the outcome. This unmeasured condemnation is moreover as unjust as it is dangerous and unnecessary." Note: This was attributed but not verified.

You may very well be correct but we should, and must, prosecute anyway.

Intense public pressure to prosecute may do the trick. If Congress gets its supermajority and we keep the pressure on for prosecution, it may happen.

Cheney's transparent attempts to justify his illegal acts merely intensifies public opinion against him. At some point he, and others, must be held to account for their actions. America's leadership is at stake and our fight for justice worldwide will be severely hampered if we cannot keep our own house in order.

Please be reminded why we were told that we must attack Iraq. We were told that it was not because of Kuwait or oil. Rather we were assured that Saddam had WMD and was capable of using them.

I disagree. There are a few conservatives contributing worthwhile writing here but they are outnumbered by moderates and liberals contributing equally worthwhile pieces.

When conservatives' writing has degenerated to the level of parroting Limbaugh, Hannity and other GOP media whores, well, things break down pretty quickly. These folks are "laughed off of the stage" so to speak. That may account for the lack of contribution from the right.

I am impressed by the overall level of discourse in Salon (I often wish that I could express myself as effectively). I don't think this exists in very many other sites - especially ones that are frequented by the dittoheads.

Conservatives view the economy as God's one true gift to humankind. Whatever is good for the economy is moral. Actually, that applies double for the short-term economy. If more is moral then faster is even more moral.

Anything interfering with, or not contibuting to, the making of money is immoral. The list of these things is huge. It includes all kinds of sex, and art, and certain kinds of music, global climate change, and recycling.

A Republican politician listening to acid rock while having sex with his wife's polo instructor who is smoking crack is OK as long as he is receiving enough money to stay in office. This is the exception that is allowed Republicans. Money is the key.

Republicans' objections to Obama's policies are all about money. Of course, there is very little money left after 10 years of Republican dominance in Congress and the presidency but who cares about that. Obama is the target now.

The information industry failed during the Vietnam War and it is failing with the Iraq War and the "war on terrorism".

The liars and propagandists have been on a feeding frenzy. Their enablers, Fox News and other mainstream news organizations have been exposing themselves as mere rumor-mongers publishing opinion pieces disguised as factual, and usually without a shred of hard facts to back up their stories.

There are too few shining lights in mainstream journalism today. The noise from the blowhards often overshadows the hard work done by good journalism. This is the product of commercializing the news.

When news "reporting" is based upon what is determined to be desired by a biased audience, the process is corrupted. Fox News illustrates this perfectly.

I never have and I never will.

I gave up comic books decades ago. Fox is the comic book in the news industry.

Let's see. During Bush's two terms over 4,000 Americans have been killed in Iraq in an unecessary war, thousands more have been badly wounded, our treasury has been drained, our Constitution has been shat upon, our nation deeply divided, our federal offices charged with protecting us against domestic disasters, domestic fraud and food safety have been staffed by unqualified political appointees. America's moral leadership has been all but destroyed.

Offhand I'd say Bush and Cheney and Rice and Rumsfeld and others have done far more damage, caused more unecessary American and Iraqi deaths and have done our "enemies" work for them.