It Vas My Duty

The people can always be brought
to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy.
All you have to do is tell them they are
being attacked and denounce the pacifists
for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.
It works the same way in any country
--Hermann Goering

I've accomplished my duty as a State worker.
If you condemn me you have then to condemn
thousands of other workers
--Wilhelm Frick, hanged 10/16/46, Nuremberg

He gave us the orders.
He kept saying that it was all his responsibility.
--Wilhelm Keitel, hanged 10/16/46, Nuremberg
_______________

President Bush gave a farewell speech proclaiming that he made the tough choices. We beg to differ.

"I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions," he beseeched The People. We do not agree.

The tough choice is not always the choice to act tough. The hard choices are always the moral choices, which are more nuanced than bringing a down a preponderance of force. U.S. leaders took 9-11 as a license to ignore the moral choices.

No Mr. President, your choices were simple, once you negated facts which might have complicated matters. You chose for an aggressive war and torture and to turn a blind eye to the rule of civilized law.

You chose the easy route, and the fast-track to disaster and those choices have shamed us all. What will be hard is living with the consequences of your decisions.

All war criminals say the same thing. Nuremberg was filled with such guilty apologists.

"I only did my duty, and it was hard."