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The Bush Six....

Big doings in Spain, where apparently they're more concerned with human rights violations than we are. The headline: Spanish prosecutors have decided to seek indictments against Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, David Addington, Jay Bybee, William J. Haynes II and Douglas J. Feith on charges that they conspired to introduce a regime of torture that resulted in the torture of five Spaniards held at Gitmo:

The case arises in the context of a pending proceeding before the court involving terrorism charges against five Spaniards formerly held at Guantánamo. A group of human-rights lawyers originally filed a criminal complaint asking the court to look at the possibility of charges against the six American lawyers. Baltasar Garzón Real, the investigating judge, accepted the complaint and referred it to Spanish prosecutors for a view as to whether they would accept the case and press it forward. “The evidence provided was more than sufficient to justify a more comprehensive investigation,” one of the lawyers associated with the prosecution stated.

Meanwhile, the Spanish have looked to the US to police its own:

The Spanish prosecutors briefed the American diplomats on the status of the case, how it arose, the nature of the allegations raised against the former U.S. government officials. The Americans “were basically there just to collect information,” the source stated.The Spanish prosecutors advised the Americans that they would suspend their investigation if at any point the United States were to undertake an investigation of its own into these matters. They pressed to know whether any such investigation was pending. These inquiries met with no answer from the U.S. side.

Spanish officials are highly conscious of the political context of the case and have measured the Obama administration’s low-key reaction attentively.

Bush loyalists have already put out the argument that the Spanish investigation is an “intrusion” into American affairs, even though the affairs involve the torture of five Spaniards. This isn't going to sell. More important is the tacit approval from the Obama folks. Their silence allows the Spanish to do the work they themselves should be doing. This is of little consolation to many Americans, but with the issue so politically charged Obama has to give the appearance of indifference. For now. He will not play prosecutor and he will not be an advocate for the defense. But there's no doubt which side has the momentum.