A Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón, famous for prosecuting Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, has begun taking steps towards prosecuting Bush administration-era officials for torture.

For years, many on the far left have been calling for special prosecutors to scrutinize the roles of top level Bush administration officials in torture and extraordinary rendition. However, no action has been taken until now. According to proponents, an investigation would set an example for other countries and clean the slate for the Obama administration. This is true. Nevertheless, the potential consequences for any investigation would be devastating to the country.

But first, back to Spain. Spain has a history of targeting perceived international criminals; after Israel’s invasion of Gaza in January, a Spanish court decided to investigate several members of Israel’s government to see if they had committed war crimes. This bizarre inquiry is still ongoing.

These Spanish courts claim universal jurisdiction, meaning they have extra-territorial rights to try anybody, anywhere. However, the Spanish courts would do better to stick to prosecuting Spanish criminals. Their accusations are ridiculous and harmful.

In fact, the Bush administration officials accused of being complicit in torture – most notably John Yoo, once a senior Justice Department legal adviser, and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales – are not accused of actually torturing anybody. Nor are they being accused of actually giving the order to torture anybody. Rather, the officials are charged with writing policy recommendations that stated torture would help in the fight on the war on terror.

Now, recommending torture is despicable, but the courts are setting a terrifying precedent. These Spanish judges are arguing that it isn’t necessary for a crime to actually be committed to provoke a criminal investigation.

Let’s pretend we had enough evidence to prosecute these offenders in American courts. Or, even better, pretend we had enough information to prosecute those in the highest echelons of the former administration, like Dick Cheney or even President Bush himself. Even if this were possible, it would not be beneficial for Americans or for American interests.

One only need look to the most recent prosecution of a high level government official to see the terrifying result: the impeachment of Bill Clinton. The impeachment was terrible for bipartisanship, and actually increased the favorability ratings of Clinton. Therefore, in the name of bipartisanship, progress, and high approval ratings for Obama, it is necessary that proceedings like the one in Spain do not continue.

The country needs to move on. Reopening the wound only causes it to bleed more, and Washington would be better off concentrating on the things that actually matter: the economy, global warming, Afghanistan, and much, much more. In the words of Obama himself, spoken back in July of 2007 when some suggested an impeachment for Bush, “We would once again, rather than attending to the people’s business, be engaged in a tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, non-stop circus.”