Lessons of Nuremburg

Senator Christoper Dodd (D-CONN) wrote an editorial for the LA Times drawing on his father's experience as a prosecutor during the Nuremburg trials to make a point on moral legitimacy. He writes:

The world had seen a monstrous regime try to conquer the world. It had seen them take the lives of more than tens of millions of men, women and children. Why not just give in to vengeance? Why not just shoot them, as Winston Churchill wanted to do? Why not just succumb to the law of power politics and impose our will without any regard to principle? Why not just give in to violence, which was certainly within our ability and, many argued, within our right? Why not? Because the United States has always stood for something more. When we entered World War II, we did not fight for land or for treasure — we fought for an idea. The idea that laws should rule the land, not men; that the principles of justice embodied in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution — of due process, of innocence until proven guilty, of the right to a fair trial — do not get suspended for vengeance. President Harry Truman understood that our nation's ability to bring about a world of peace and justice was rooted not in our military might but in our moral authority; not on the ability to compel people with our tanks and planes but to convince them that our values and our ideals were right. He understood that our ability to succeed in spreading American values of freedom and human rights are only as effective as our willingness to uphold them. We would do well to remember the words of Justice Jackson: "We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well."