When Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that he would launch an investigation into CIA interrogation practices, he ignited a bitter debate. Some say the investigation is a small nod to justice, and is crucial to repairing our commitment to human dignity around the world. But others argue it's a politically motivated investigation that could dangerously weaken the CIA.

• Don't Prosecute the People Who Keep Us Safe, says Marc Thiessen at The Wall Street Journal. "The CIA's interrogation practices were lawful, they were necessary, and they were effective. Reading this report, the real crime that comes to light is the Obama administration's decision to eliminate this capability and prosecute those who stopped the next attack."
• A Dangerous Investigation, writes Monica Crowley at The Washington Times. "catapult us back prior to Sept. 10, 2001, when our intelligence officers were denied the resources and latitude to destroy the enemy before it had the chance to destroy us."
• A Small Step Toward Justice, writes Dan Froomkin at Huffington Post. "There is so much we still don't know about what was done in our name during the Bush era. And the thing that may be the most absent is any visceral sense of how people should have behaved when their government asked them to do things that were immoral, and illegal."
• Go After Yoo, writes Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish. "Any new criminal investigation which scapegoats those at the bottom while protecting the guilty men and women who made it happen is a travesty of justice. If it is the end and not the beginning of accountability, it will be worse than nothing."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at mgay at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.