So, If Torture Is a War Crime

Then, arguably, the cover-up of the commission of war crimes is a war crime.

At a closed briefing in 2003, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee raised no objection to a C.I.A. plan to destroy videotapes of brutal interrogations, according to secret documents released Monday.

The senator, Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, also rejected a proposal to have his committee conduct its own assessment of the agency’s harsh interrogation methods, which included wall-slamming and waterboarding, the documents say.

Of course he denies it. His defense is along the lines of "they told me that they were going to destroy the tapes and I was in `receive mode'."

So if a mob boss is in "receive mode" when his subordinates discuss whacking someone, then he is off the hook for any charges? I don't think so.