Is anyone above the law? Does the common man go to jail for committing a crime, and the rich and powerful go free?

Remember the young woman holding one end of a leash while the other end was hooked to a prisoner at Abu Ghraib?

Her name is Private Lynndie Rana England and she served 521 days in prison. She followed orders. Orders that have been traced from the White House to Guantanamo to Abu Ghraib.

The Army policy is set forth in the Field Manual, 34-52, which prohibits inhumane treatment. You can find it on the Internet. It is clear and unequivocal. The manual was trumped by the orders of the “torture memorandum.”

Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and others authored a new and illegal policy of torture. A handful of administration lawyers bent the law to fit the policy. The cabal remained in a narrow group to prevent any legal challenges.

It is not even necessary to prove Cheney’s guilt: He admits it!

However, Cheney defends himself by claiming it was effective. It would be wrong even if it was effective, but, I can find no evidence that this is true. On the contrary, Matthew Alexander, an interrogator in Iraq, has documented cases of successful intelligence coups using legal means of interrogation (See “How to Break A Terrorist”).

So, why did Private Lynndie Rana England serve 521 days while Dick Cheney leads a life of opulence and luxury? How can we bust the “grunts” while we let the big boys laugh at the law?

Nelson Strasser lives in Kelseyville.