Jacob, in one sense, I agree with you. Americans are culpable. It's our government, and we did not stop it from committing crimes against humanity.

I wonder, though, if you have considered our alternatives.

A citizen has an opportunity only once every four years to decisively reject the policies of an Administration. And on that occasion, given our system, that citizen has exactly two options, because there are only two viable political parties in our country. In 2004, we were presented a choice between parties which, neither one, had anything bad to say about torture.

What, exactly, was a citizen of conscience to do? Stage a revolution?

Perhaps we should have done so. But you know, that's illegal, too. And it almost certainly would have caused deaths and chaos far worse than riding out the insanity that gripped Washington in our names.

We do not get a free pass for tolerating the Bush Administration's policies. Even the election-tampering which won Bush his two terms falls squarely on our shoulders; we let it happen. But I do not see in this truth an excuse for the behavior of criminals who committed crimes.

We knew about torture, at least in vague terms. This is a situation similar to an inner city neighborhood which knows about the drug dealers on a given street corner. Everyone knows. Cops, residents, everyone. Do we then forego criminal prosecution, should sufficient evidence be obtained to prosecute?

We do not. Because it's one thing to know crimes are occurring. It's another to commit them.

Laws were broken. Crimes were committed, and it is a national shame that they were committed on our behalf and with our knowledge. That shame should be the motivation to prosecute those crimes. If we do not prosecute them, we will be a nation where crimes against humanity will once again flourish. That is always the way in a nation governed not by laws but by executive whim.

We do not torture today because our elected President says torture is wrong and illegal. We tortured under Bush because he said it was right and legal. We are relying on executive fiat to determine what is legal; not the courts, not the legislature. Can you not see how incredibly dangerous that is? What will the next President decide? Because, you see, if there are never any consequences for choosing to break the law, the President may do so with impunity.

If we are to be a nation of laws, there must be consequences to criminal acts. Our leaders must fear the wrath of the citizenry; they must fear they will be held to account if they violate our trust and our laws.

Crimes were committed. Culpability must be determined and the criminals must be prosecuted. If they are not, our civic failure and our shame will be redoubled.