On April 29, a Spanish court opened an investigation into torture allegations against agents of the United States.  According to the Guardian newspaper, Judge Baltasar Garzon “cited ‘documents declassified by the US administration’ as giving evidence ‘of what previously could be intuited: an official plan of approved torture and abuse of people being held in custody while facing no charges and without the most basic rights of people who have been detained.’

   The fact that this court in Spain has launched an investigation is not our abuse of the week, of course.  It is the fact that the U.S. Department of Justice, the entity which released the documents cited in the Spanish court, has not announced an investigation of its own.  It is long past time for Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor.  It is truly a sad day when other nations around the world have to take the lead in pursuing criminal charges against Americans who have violated laws against torture.  

   It is an outrage that the Bush administration authorized torture.  It is, in a way, even more disappointing that the Obama administration is trying to sweep the entire sordid episode under the rug.