The Right Idea on Justice — Mostly

He says all the right things, doesn’t he?  Here’s President Obama from tonight’s speech, on American values, justice and torture:

To overcome extremism, we must also be vigilant in upholding the values our troops defend – because there is no force in the world more powerful than the example of America. That is why I have ordered the closing of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and will seek swift and certain justice for captured terrorists – because living our values doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger.  And that is why I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture.

All the right sentiments. As I noted yesterday, real trials for captured terrorists – and releasing those we captured who it turns out aren’t really terrorists after all – can’t happen soon enough.

Still, there was one big, though not surprising, omission:  while he re-iterated his pledge that America does not torture, Obama carefully left out any mention of bringing to justice those who did.