Most evils have a name. War crimes include torture, genocide, and aggressive war. The seven deadly sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride.

But what do you call the evil of horrifically torturing people to manufacture specific false confessions (i.e. lies) to launch a completely unprovoked war of aggression that kills, traumatizes, corrupts, and impoverishes a nation of 25 million people?

There is no word for this evil. But that's exactly what Bush and Cheney did. And there needs to be a word so we all understand it, decide on the appropriate punishment, and make sure it never happens again.

Any suggestions?

Update 1: Keith Olbermann called it "backfill" tonight, but I have no idea why. Backfill is "Material used to refill an excavated area." The only thing that was excavated after 9/11 was our collective brains.

Update 2: Here's Digby:

If the SASC report is correct, then much of the torture regime was devised to justify the invasion of Iraq. It explains why Cheney is out there behaving like he's on methamphetamines. If that's the case, he and Bush and all those who signed off on it are subject not only to prosecution, they are subject to the kind of historical legacy reserved for the worst of the worst. This is as bad as it gets.