So, in the end, no one is going to be held responsible for the crimes of CIA and others committed during the war on terrorism. Attorney General Eric Holden concluded:

“The admissible evidence wouldn’t be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Those tortured, and those dead, will hardly be impressed by Obama’s vows that “we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards”.

The tragedy is that the immunity was hardly unexpected and not very surprising.

The irony, and the greatest threat to the future is that the CIA whistleblower, John Kiriakou, is awaiting trial on criminal charges that he disclosed to journalists the identity of other CIA officers who participated in the not so gentle interrogations of terrorist suspects.

The message from the US Government to the US population, and to the rest of the world – “look down, look the other way” – is a terrifying punch in the gut and a middle finger in the face of democracy and free speech.