The downside with prosecuting the agents is that it would be an admission that the United States government can do wrong. The primary factor in the US governmen

The downside with prosecuting the agents is that it would be an admission that the United States government can do wrong. The primary factor in the US government's decision matrix is "admit no wrongdoing ever, to anyone, under any circumstances, for any reason." Don't apologize, don't prosecute criminal wrongdoing by agents doing the state's business, and do not change. This has further implications: if the government has decided to do something, then it is by its very nature correct. And if the truth threatens to come out, such as in the CIA torture case, then the strategy is to fight disclosure every step of the way or, if that isn't possible, to minimize the damage through manipulating public discourse. I believe this has something to do with sociology or some unspoken theory of governance that is understood by those with the most authority in government. I don't know if it is conscious or not, but intentional or no it's as if they believe that alpha males triumph, for governments to be successful they must be alpha, and the United States is the most alpha of the alphas. And if you're Alpha Alpha, you can not admit wrongdoing: that would indicate that maybe you shouldn't have been alpha in the first place and makes future decisions harder to convince people to accept. If that pattern continues on for long enough... Well, maybe you won't be a government anymore. The Senate report was a great step. But the US will do nothing significant in response, because it is not in the nature of governments -- especially this one -- to attack themselves. Any changes will come as a result of external pressures, not from existing bureaucratic ones.