Probe of CIA abuses proper

San Jose Mercury News: Attorney General Eric Holder took a courageous step Monday when he appointed prosecutor John Durham to investigate CIA interrogations during the Bush administration.

President Barack Obama’s goal of “looking forward, not backward” is no impediment to investigating whether terrorism suspects were subject to illegal treatment. Determining whether crimes were committed is the only way to maintain the integrity of the nation’s laws and deter abuses in the future.

Republicans, never hesitant to launch their own investigations when it suits them, are howling that Holder is on a witch hunt. They say it will damage the CIA’s morale.

Top priority

But restoring the nation’s moral stature must be a top priority, and that includes affirming that there are consequences for authorizing illegal practices.

If it turns out that no laws were broken, then the investigation will vindicate officials, and that is equally important.

None of this will help Obama move his domestic agenda, but it’s the right thing to do.

The bigger question now involves the new, elite interrogation teams whose creation also was announced last week. How far will Obama allow them to go to obtain information from suspected terrorists?

Former Vice President Dick Cheney continues to claim that the CIA tactics during the Bush era produced information that saved American lives. But there is no clear evidence of that.

Obama needs to reiterate his conviction that torture is “illegal, immoral, dangerous and counterproductive.”