Well, technically, they were following Bush's policies. The CIA officials didn't willingly break the law, because with the semantic loopholes the Bush Administration created in torture-law, things like waterboarding were explicitly allowed. "Mr. Obama affirmed his administration's unwillingness to prosecute under anti-torture laws CIA personnel who relied in good faith on Bush administration legal opinions issued after the Sept. 11 attacks. The four memos Mr. Obama released approved techniques including waterboarding, week-long sleep deprivation, nudity and putting insects in with a tightly confined prisoner." . http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090416.wobamatorture0416/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview . . . Isn't this like the Nuremberg Defense? Which, hypocritically, America vehemently discredited? If Bush gave the orders, and the CIA was merely following orders, someone's ass should be on the chopping block! In the hierarchy of responsibility, this must inevitably lead to Bush himself - Bush, as well as Cheney and Rumsfeld, should be investigated and potentially tried for War Crimes. If America - the most advanced country in the world - is afraid to investigate its own rulers for their crimes, aren't they basically under the same dictatorial control as Cambodia, who pardoned the Khmer Rouge for decades?

They HAD to follow orders.Can`t charge them.If you are going to charge someone,charge the people who were responsible!

A bad call. Anyone involved in torture - from the lowest agent to the President himself should be investigated and if the evidence is there - then they should be charged with torture and stand trial for the crime. This is the first big "black mark" Obama has made in my book - and I won't be forgetting this dismissal of his duties anytime soon. It's a very bleak day for justice in this country.

Am I really supposed to "feel" anything? There were a lot of stupid people who thought that Obama was the "Messiah" but he quickly proved them wrong. He's just the same dog with a different collar. He is politics in Washington as usual. He responds only to the corporations

We've had anti-torture laws since Carter, at least. The Geneva Convention be damned. The past 8 years saw significant changes in policy to an "anything goes" approach with the Bush administration. Laws were rewritten quietly, tactics changed and frankly, I was acutely aware of it. They were following Bush's orders, not Obama's, but not prosecuting those responsible is reprehensible to me. I completely disagree. He isn't so damn busy saving the economy that he can't appoint a panel to deal with this mess. He has all kinds of help available to him!