I totally agree with you JM DAY.!

We are Americans.. we have the right to defend ourselves..

we stand up for what is right.. like human rights!!

the right to happiness and freedom..

we are not a evil country that believes that anyone has the right to torture another human being.. if you dont obey the laws you lose your freedom or your life if that is the punishment..

but to take another human being and to torture them!?? that is LIVE spelt backwards which is EVIL!

dont do it in my name or my childrens or grandchildrens name!!!

you get more with honey than you ever do with vinegar and this has been proved!

when we all go to meet our creator.. and you condone the use of torture on another human being.

what will you answer when he asks why you stood there and did nothing as our country tortured another person??!

Mr Bush and Mr Cheney are now war criminals..

the world is still tracking down and arresting even the guards of the Nazi war camps..

Why would these laws of human rights not also apply to our politicians?

They do!

to those that would agree with torture... yes you have the right to defend your house against a intruder..

do you have the right to drag him in your house and burn him with a cigarette? to torture that person because he tried to take your tv??!

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo..

would you want your children to see you do this???

remember the law of the universe..

what you put out , comes back to you threefold!

when we all go to meet our creator and he asks why the people in our country stood by while another human being was evilly tortured...

The entire nation ought to be ashamed of Mr Bush, and others in his keep, responsible for this despicable affair.....

and if you read the report carefully, what does it say? Read it again carefully:

In a series of high-level meetings in 2002, without a single dissent from cabinet members or lawmakers, the United States for the first time officially embraced the brutal methods of interrogation it had always condemned.

This extraordinary consensus was possible, an examination by The New York Times shows, largely because no one involved — not the top two C.I.A. officials who were pushing the program, not the senior aides to President George W. Bush , not the leaders of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees — investigated the gruesome origins of the techniques they were approving with little debate.

If we're going to talk about blame, then truly blame every single person involved not just Bush because you dislike him. Obviously many people had a chance to stop this including some who are now spearheading the charge for prosecution for this abuse.

I have news for you. REGARDLESS of what we do as a nation Other coutries will ALWAYS look down on us.

If we really were worried as a county what the europeans thought we would have never became our own country.

The media has led the public to believe thatwe are these evil being for using these techniques when in fact we are BY FAR the least cruel nation when it come to interogations.

Pathetic.

Your the idiot. People around the world LOVE this country for what it stands for. People are dying to get hear and just because Bush gave us a black eye doesn't mean they all hate us now. To accept the premoius that other counties hate us and nothing can be done about it IS pathetic. Ever hear of the phase "Trade deficit".

If the oversight groups were not completely briefed or were weasel word briefed, e.g. the briefer says "we will use all legal methods" then that is completely different. Fortunately an investigation by a special prosecutor might get to the bottom of it. I am willing as an American to let the chips fall where they may, are you conservatives ready to find out the truth about what you supported? Including what may consist of child rape, adult rape, and manslaughter or murder of prisoners? Or will you just try to make excuses for criminal behavior because "It's Okay if You Are Republican" like David Vitter's hooker/diaper fetish, Newt Gingrich chronic philandering, Bill Bennett's dominatrix, Mark Foley's NAMBLA hobby, Larry Craig's bathroom fun time, and on and on? Normalizing real perversity seems to be the GOP's major policy thrust of these last few years. Real Bush Derangement Syndrome is making excuses for criminal behavior and policy.

Dick Hertz, Republicans most definitely aren't the only politicians who have a hold on strange or illegal behavior unless of course you assume Clinton's Presidential oral sex with an intern to be normal behavior for a married man, Gary Harts philandering totally acceptable, Ted Kennedy's intoxicated driving abilities exemplary, Congressman William Jefferson's $100K in a freezer just a variation on earmarks, etc.

You all are kidding right. Thousands of american lives were taken by these terrorists. Not to mention the other BRUTAL murders of US & other countries persons by these ruthless terrorists outside of our country (beheading, comes to mind quite often). I think the tactics of the CIA or any government agency or country that were used are appropriate and neccessary particularly and rightfully on the 911 suspects. Human rights, they arent human, they could care less about human's and lives.

JM Day....you're an idiot. And you spelled IRAQ wrong.

How can you people think that waterboarding is worse that beheading of our Americans like Daniel Pearl , are have you forgotten this, he lost the head and live , it was even displayed on CBS, NBC and CNN. Next time they decide to do some destructive it will be in you home town instead of New York then you might get your senses back. We have a President that has made us the US look weak, and he has bit off more that he can chew. America ! where are you people.

JM Day is very naive along with Obama and the left.  You don't negotiate with terrorists and you will never get useful information by giving them milk and cookies.  Maybe some of you naive lefties need to go fight in a war and see how difficult things really are.  Senate and Congress during Bush admin approved use as needed to protect us.  Are all of you crybaby lefties going to protect us if things get bad or run to Canada?

Fighting terrorism and war is dirty-has been as long as we have lived on this earth and to think otherwise is to have blinders on.

Sorry JM, but you sound like most of this country that didn't know what little prestige we had before 911. While those with blinders on sat snug and safe over here without a clue, my friends and I were keeping some of the nastiness out there away from your door. There's a reason why they want to harm us and it has nothing to do with anything we've done to them. You've got to try tostop blaming someone for something that no one else could have handled any better. It started well before, and will continue well after. The Bush hating by all is misplace and reminicant of high school. Soon you will see, torture is how we kept some at bay and others in fear. While they were cutting off heads, we were giving sleep deprivation. How PC is that?

Mike Curtis, you are very right! JM Day, you are incredibly short-sighted. The techniques we use today may be extreme, but they're extreme by OUR civilized viewpoint. What Americans have suffered at the hands of their captors makes what we put these disgusting men through look like a cakewalk. Plus, I think we are the only country that actually takes the Geneva Convention seriously...it's only a guideline, not international law...

Also, Mike is right because you can't negotiate with these people. They see it as a mandate of their religion to either convert or kill everyone who doesn't believe in Islam, that Allah is their God and Mohammed as his Prophet. This is actually in the Koran, in fact, in the Koran of Medina, which are the more recent verses. To Muslims, the later verses are the "more correct" ones, ones that are revised by Allah Himself. Ask any scholar educated on the subject, he/she will tell you the same thing. The scary thing is that we, the United States, are their primary target for global Jihad. Are we going to just let these people without technology or reason walk over us because we can't stomach a few indecencies? Especially when the indecencies they are responsible of are much more severe? I honestly do not understand why we think that everyone else in the world is going to wage war in a decent way like we would like to. No, they would behead us all if it was up to them. We need to stand up to them and squelch the Jihadis before they come to claim what they feel is their birthright as Muslims. Moderate Muslims should watch out, too...an alliance or any agreement with infidels is deemed "unacceptable."

Jihadis will only accept peace if they see that they cannot win, and they will use that peace to build their Jihad force, brainwashing children and the uneducated populace of the Middle East. The global Jihad is coming, and it came to America on two airplanes that smashed into the Twin Towers. These people are no better or less harmless than Hitler's Nazi Germany (in fact there is a very direct tie between the Arab world and Nazism), they are probably even more dangerous because their cause has a religious twist. The only outcome that is acceptable is a world ruled by radical Islam.

Osama bin Laden and the Jihadis have declared war, why do we still delude ourselves into thinking that we are not at war?

Since when is it "moral" to afford the same Geneva Convention protections to both legitimate "prisoners of war" and unrepentent terrorists who have signed no treaties, respect no national boundaries, brutually kill innocent civilians and advocate that others do so? The very nature of morality demands that actions bear consequences, and the severity of treatment one receives, therefore, must as a moral imperative be commeasurate with that afforded to others. Treating a young soldier doing his duty and obeying orders the same as a terrorist "kingpin" who recruits impressionable young men to become suicide bombers is the height of amoral and immoral conduct.

We in the USA did not let our concerns regarding "ex post facto" laws or other constitutional protections stop us from hanging Nazi war criminals, despite the fact that many were military personnel, "merely following orders", who would have placed their own lives in danger had they disobeyed those orders. Before WW II, this was always a valid excuse.

We did the right and moral thing by hanging those Nazis (regardless of our abhorance otherwise to "ex post facto" laws and our constitution's prohibition of same). Bottom line...basic morality should have informed them that their actions were so awful that nothing should stand in the way of ultimate punishment.

That same basic morality dictates that unrepentant terrorists should expect treatment so harsh that it would never be dished out to others adhere to basic rules of decency like not targeting innocent civilians, not humiliating and beheading non-combatant journalists, not threatening whole populations with nuclear, biological and/or chemical anniliation. Anyone who thinks that such a person should not be subject to temporary discomfort can only have a cartoon-like definition of "morality" in mind. If this warped sense of morality wins out, what is to stop an adversary in war from turning all of its troups and civilians into terrorist-type fighters? After all, the USA must never adopt severe interrogation tactics since that is what makes us morally superior...right??????

Why stop with torture, we should cook and EAT them too! (yes I am being facetious) If we are going to throw "being civilized" out the window, where do we stop?

For those that believe torture is acceptable behavior in war, where do we finally set standards for what is acceptable or not! This appears to be the main question generated by all this rhetoric. Do we pry off fingernails? Do we cut off fingers and limbs?

There must be standards set somehow, someway, somewhere. I thought that they had been set by the Geneva Convention, but it appears not! I would like to think that *we* are *better* than *them* and this is what makes us a great Nation, but alas, it appears 30% of the public agree with Dick Cheney and all rules should be thrown out, using the old quote "THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS" To obtain "valuable information" it appears any price paid is acceptable. In reality, for modern day civilization, this is actually UNacceptable.

I say shame on anyone that blames the previous administration for doing whatever was necessary to keep my family safe and I do mean "whatever was necessary".

I also say shame on President Obama for turning this into a political issue to retain some future voters and to pander to the far Left. It's time to stop stumping and start acting like our President and Mr Obama we really do need a President right now, and a President with a backbone--- and please stop embarrassing us by apologizing for the actions of this great Country, to everyone in the world. We are a caring and generous Nation and we certainly do not owe apologies to anyone.

Amazing......If you think this started with Bush and will end with Obama your all wrong! Obama is leading us to a weak nation that will be open for more attacks. Obama will permanently cripple the United States.

You and ALL who think your way were up in arms on the inmediate post 9-11. Now that politics gives you a reason to vent and become part of a linch mob, now you're comming out of your rat hole. You would be thinking differently if a loved one had been killed by these monsters. Shame on you!!!

It's Iraq darlin'! Get on the net and do a little research. Sorry, can't provide any cliff notes for ya! Educate yourself on the true origins of this mess. We are facing a foe that see us as the "white devil" and they see Sept. 11th as a fullfillment of prophecy. Part of the fundamentals of their beliefs is the "7 pillars of faith" one of which is to "start and follow through with a Jihad (or war)" they see us as infadels. Just start with that, and you will see a portion of who we as a country are up against. Obama is fooling himself if he thinks we can play both sides of the fence on this, play nicey nice, and poof this problem is solved. Perhaps he needs to educate himself as well.

I agree with kev67. This has been going for a very long time, and we are not doing ourselves any favors by opening ourselves up to the world like we are. I guess Obama knows atleast his family will be safe no matter what so what the heck if he puts the rest of the nation at risk. But I for one am very afraid. You should be too, there are people very intent but very patient just waiting for this very time to strike, and I am afraid they will make Sept. 11, 2001 look like a cake walk. You'll be wishing for Bush again when that happens and what some interrogators did to perpetrators of terrorist acts won't matter a hill of beans. READ MY LIPS, WE ARE GETTING COMPLACENT AGAIN. Not a good thing!

so you would rather have their heads chopped off, right? right! or maybe parts of their bodies torn off, right? right! the little torture AMERICA does is in no way torture that the terrorist do to people, IN NO WAY! obama just wants to take care of his people(terrorist)! obama cares nothing for AMERICA and it's people! look at all his cronies in his senate. the change for AMERICA is to bow down to the evil one(obama)! he will change this country and not at all for the good! it is time he stops to put the blame on bush, for the little time he has bin in office he has done nothing but to jump start the destruction of AMERICA as fast as he can!

This is the same kind of thinking that got us INTO the situation we’re in now, where terrorists can directly declare war on us; We didn’t have the courage under CLINTON to do what had to be done, fearful of what our “image” would be abroad, to take bin LADEN&Co out when we had the chance. All they had to do to defeat us then was to put a set of swings up; Now, all they have to do is claim one guard touched one Quran, and again we’re bending over backwards for their “civil rights”, rather than defending ourselves from them, while they plot and scheme to kill more of us.

Terrorists won’t be stopped until every single one of them is dead; Until then, they will continue to kill as many of us as possible, indiscriminately, even if they have to kill their own in the process (“acceptable collateral damage”). Destroying terrorism is critical not only to our own defense, but to the civil populace that the terrorists hide within; For they are the human shields that bin LADEN hides behind.

If “(the loss of a little) prestige, as well as respect” is what is needed to protect our own people, as well as Afghan and other civilians who want nothing more than a return to order and peace, then let’s lose some prestige- And not set ourselves up to fight ANOTHER war in 10 years that will make this one seem like Grenada by comparison.

Mike Curtis, Well, I have fought in a war and during that war I conducted interrogations. So, I'm not naive you redbaiting little twit...you are the naive one. You don't know one iota about war or what kind of interrogation techniques work. It's not about little boys like you pulling the wings off flies just to show how tough you are. The techniques don't work, endanger Americans, and are crimes. Now go crawl back in your hole and worship your fuehrer, you un-American pogue.

It is apparent most of the commentors have never lived outside north america and europe. The American is respected and honored. Having lived in 72 countries I speak from actual experience. I travel and visit my family who lives overseas presently. Our current leadership has NOW TAKEN the steps to marginalize our freedom. We are much less safe today than we were last week. We are reverting to the Carter days with the added demension of McCarthyism.

I read some of the comments and was astonished that anyone could think that the activities that went on were okay "because we got some valuable information". So if you go along those lines torture throughout history (i.e. Civil War, Korean War, WWI, WWII, etc.) by any country was okay because "they got some valuable information". "How a country treats its prisoners reflects the level of its civilization" We have a duty to future generations and ourselves to strive for the highest level of moral decency when it comes to the treatment of our prisoners. I am deeply ashamed of those in power who had the succumbed to a mentality of panic and brutality and forgot that above all that real Americans do NOT endorse nor practice torture of it's prisoners.

Hear! Hear! Glad to see another actual war veteran (Former Army Security Agency) dishing out some reality. My personal opinion is that the folks who are so eager to "pull the wings off flies" are already in too much of a blind panic to deal with the real thing (i.e. real war), much less to do so effectively. Moreover, most people who've been involved in killing seem pretty slow to go looking for more. As for our former Fuerher, he may never get prosecuted in the U.S., but neither will he ever again casually visit some foreign countries. Hope he enjoys playing with his chain saw in Crawford.

Bush's approval of the tactics was cowardly and in total conflict with our nation's ideals. He took us off the high road and damaged our moral authority.

I hope that during the next terrorist attack on U.S. soil, you and every other Non-American liberal are at the center of ground zero. Until then, I guess we'll just keep on moving backwards. OPEN YOUR EYES!

I do not approve of the tactics but I find it hilarious that some of you put all the blame on Bush. Just where the hell was Pelosi on this? She was fully briefed on it( she says she didn't understand- how convenient) and yet said NOTHING. She has a big mouth which she uses frequently so just where was her morale fiber at this point? The same place it is now- in her corner working to her own best use not really caring about anyone else. This whole matter will die a quiet death as the powers that be realize that some of their own are as complicit in this as Bush and Cheney and that they have no high moral ground to stand on.

I guess many of you have forgotten about Americans being be-headed over there! No one is complaining about that! Do you think American soldiers are treated kindly when they are captured? THINK AGAIN!

War is war and sometimes unfortunate things happen...GET OVER IT. Get your heads out of the past. Learn from mistakes and quit harping on them. It hurts our country when you do that! Look to the future and quit whining!

Guess what? Americans got beheaded over there - did any of you complain then? I doubt it. If torture will save Americans lives, I'm all for it. War isn't pretty folks. Do you think other countries treat American prisoners well?

Look toward the future and quit trying to blame someone for everything. Our country stays trapped in the past. I'm sick of it.

Ann, I couldn't agree more!

This isn't friggin' high school.

WHO CARES what other countries think?

Oh, no! We're not the most popular country anymore! We'll have to stay home and cry ourselves to sleep on Saturday night 'cause we couldn't get a date!

The only question we should be asking is, "Did we get useful information from these techniques that helped us save American lives and kill terrorists?"

when the chickens come home to roost and they will be back with much more that before i just hope they hit their roost of the ones who are selling the usa out to his muslims brothers

To Ward---

Are you seriously suggesting that we surrender our most cherished values in time of crisis? Wow, that might make it...hmmm....convenient for those who wish to control not only power, but the spin of power, by creating more crises whenever they are expediant to their particluar cause. In fact, this has been the historical tactic throughout human history.

In other words, "Those who would surrender their liberties for the sake of comfort and security deserve neither..."

The question is is that does these actions represent American ideas, values and our way of life that you defended?

mybootstrapswerestolen - TOUCHE!!! again, does the means justify the ends. Do we reduce ourselves to barbarians to defend ourselves from barbarians? Seems to me there will always be those that strive to set HIGHER standards, and those that are happy to dwell in primeval ooze, have no standards, and will default into doing whatever they want to get whatever they want! i.e. torture is okay because information is obtained. Rob a bank to get money, kill a spouse for insurance money, etc. etc. the list is endless, but that type of behavior is simply not civilized standards.

I thought that we had progressed far beyond Medieval Times, witchhunts and take what you want however you want mentality. But alas.... No...

¿Do the means justify the ends? Ask yourself that, after a police sharpshooter takes out (permanently or otherwise) a hostage taker; After firefighters destroy half a house to put out the living room fire; After paramedics break the ribs of a heart attack victim (rare, but it does happen).

The end does justify the means! I have no fuzzy feelings for terrorists that we question. These are not people in the army of another country, these are Islamic Jihadists, who'd chop your head off without hesitation! If this questioning saved a city, a state, a person or a bum in the streets, it was worth it. Get a grip America, "The End Does Justify the Means"!

Precisely how do we demonstrate that torturing "alleged" terrorists "saved American lives?" Where is the evidence that backs up the claim that we somehow prevented an atrocity? For that matter, where is the proof that any of these people were genuine terrorists? The entire debacle was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction by the Bush administration and the CIA that went way too far. Nobody's lives were saved. Nobody's essential liberties were protected. Nothing was actually accomplished, save the creation of even more jihadists with a new reason to detest our country.

I sincerely hope that Obama's "hand instead of a fist" policy will show our erstwhile foes that not every American is a hypocritical bigot.

I can't recall the name of the senator or representative who said it, but one of our legislators said that "we do not torture so that my son, who's in the military, won't be tortured". We're supposed to be the good guys! If WE torture, we surrender that description and are no better than the worst of the worst. You may think it's OK to "take the low road", but I disagree. Someday we'll have to answer for what we do. I want to go to bed (and before my maker) with a clear conscience.

Russ;

How many lives did George Bush jeopardize by not reacting to the intel on the attackers of the 9/11 tragedy. When George & Cheney were given information that our country was going to be attacked - they did nothing. After the bombing by Timothy McVay and the attack on the World Trade Center when Clinton was president - don't you think this kind of information if acted on at the time would have saved 3,000 people in New York. George Bush did NOTHING. What was the intel regarding Iraq - NO WMD's. Tell the innocent Iraq people that we had the right to blow up their homes - because George Bush said they had wmd's. Did they sign up to trade their families in for getting rid of Sadam? How many children were slaughtered in Iraq because of us. We had no business being there. We were supposed to be in Afganistan getting the people who actually attacked us. So who is right. George Bush made us no better than the 9/11 attackers. Cheney and Bush have made us less safe and they have created more terrorist to hate us. So if being lliberal is being fair and just count me in. Torture does not earn you respect - it earns you hatred.

How many American lives would the liberals trade for the right to say "we do not waterboard in the United States"? 1,50,5,000? Would they trade their own family?

-Russ-482501

By your logic any country can torture. What will you say when Iran, china, North Korea, etc all use the same excuse. “WE _____— (insert country name) believe that you ____— (insert YOUR NAME) are a terrorist and a danger to our national security. Our intelligence agency says that you may or may not have information about an upcoming attack on our country so until you tell us what we want to hear we will waterboard you."

Torture is being trapped in the top floors of a building that is on fire and having the choice between being burned to death or jumping out of a window.

Well, since you think torture is cool, you won't mind it if it's done to one of your loved ones when he's captured. Iraq, take note.... it's okay.

everyone here on this post blames president george w bush for everything negative that happened to the United States but what about the positives that came about for the decisions he made. As a military wife to a husband that served over in iraq for 4 1 /2 years, the terrorists dont care who you are other than being an american. What happened to all of you standing up for those soldiers that lost their lives, filmed specifically for the world wide web. American soldiers tortured and beheaded! What if that was your son, your daughter, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I cant say that torturing is a "good" thing but these terrorists dont have a right to live when they dont care about the right to life. Children were not slaughtered by american soldiers they were slaughtered by their own government decades before we got there. If anything we helped many iraqi's choose the right to life! Obama will continue to point the finger because he has no better solution. When he gets one i would like to hear it and releasing known terrorists is not a solution!!!

well nut case, if they get your son or daughter, what do you think they will do to them? sure not water-broad, that would be nothing to them at all! they will chop their heads off, of some part of their body, but then i guess that is nottorture, uh?

No, Russ, JM is right. You however are a traitor to what it means to be an American.

Matt if they catch someone you or I know in Iraq or Afghanistan they will torture them there is no if to it, what do you think videotapping cutting someones head off is? Its what they have been doing for a long
time, get your head out of the sand, waterboarding is nothing compared to what terrorists are doing to captives. Just come out and admit you hate America and love Bin Laden either that or you are very ignorant of what has been going on recently.

Walt, why is it that anyone who is against torture is automatically anti-American, or worse, pro-jihadist? What another country does to its prisoners is not a justification for what we as Americans did to ours. When we torture detainees, we become the terrorists. Particularly when those detainees are being held without evidence and- possibly- without having comitted a crime at all.

Amen Russ!

CJ, admit it you can't get over Bush being president and you will grasp at any excuse to see him villified and brought down. It's ridiculous, if you want to harp on his mistakes there are plenty of legitimate ones. A little sleep deprivation and water boarding are not torture and the truth is we will never know how effective these interrogation methods were all we do know is there were no more terrorist attacks on American soil after 9/11.

Wow.......you're an idiot.

What???????

Too funny! Ty newsvine!

What kind of statement is that..Obama responsible...how could he be he wasn't even president...are you sure Nibroc37 that you know which website you are on..It is MSNBC not Fox..get it straight..

I can't say Obama is responsible for the so-called torturing we apparently did (but if it saved my son's life, it is not so bad to me - at least we didn't chop off arms, legs, and heads). I can say, Obama is not bringing any respect for this country from other countries - in fact, it is the opposite. They may smile and shake hands, but what they now believe about our strength and leadership is that we are becoming weaker by the minute. Flower children gone wild! God HELP the USA. We do not and should not ever deal with terrorists or tyrants. While they shake your hand, they plan your demise.

So when Reagan and Gorbachev sat around and joked and talked during the cold war, how did the world view us. When Rumsfeld was shaking Saddam's hand while he was gassing the Kurds, how did the world view us.

Your adolescent view is truly dangerous. You do NOT earn the respect and admiration of the world by pushing people around and making demands that everyone do your bidding OR ELSE, That earns you hatred and plants the seeds of terrorism we are trying to fight. How do you feel about someone who is bigger or stronger than you telling you what to do? Do you truly respect them or do you think of ways to beat them or get away from them? Go spew your simplistic view of the world somewhere else

While far (very far) from eloquently stated, he has the point; No one on earth fears the United States right now, and with damned good reason- OBAMA has shown, time and again, that his interests are NOT focused on what is best for the People of The United States (as exemplified, in spades, by his trip to Iran before even the first Democratic Candidate debate back in Aug of 2008), but in making us “look good” to the rest of the world.

A truly great President, Theodore ROOSEVELT, once said “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” OBAMA, like CLINTON, has the soft talk down to a science; Now, everyone also knows he DOESN’T have the big stick.

Robert, I couldn't agree with you more.

What should scare you even more is the fact that out of 800 people detained at Gitmo, two to three dozen were dangerous criminals and the rest were innocent civilians detained by mistake and kept in order to provide a "patchwork of intelligence"; over 750 innocent men and children were tortured and imprisoned for seven years by the Bush administration because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time...does it make you feel safer to know that your government was, in fact, creating enemies for our soldiers to fight while destroying the constitution and all of the freedoms that your ancestors died for? I would rather die with dignity, knowing that I have done the right thing, than live as a hypocritical monster any day of the week...

You know what scares me? People like you, who are more afraid of what happens in THIS life, than of what will happen to you in the NEXT life - when you have to explain to your Creator why you advocated the brutalization of another human being, when we are instructed to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and to "Love one another".

As a believer, I know that throughout the Bible we are warned of a Judgment Day. In the Bible, Jesus promised eternal life. But contrary to popular (Bible-thumper) belief, he DIDN'T guarantee WHERE we'll spend it!

I think of myself as a "Red-Letter Christian". I practice what Jesus said to do. To me, THAT is how a Christian lives their life.

Nan, you are ready to torture your neighbor. Do not use compassionante Jesus or the Bible to cover your errors.

well said

You said it just right!!!! They can behead us BUT GOD FORBID....we might waterboard them......Makes sense huh??? Nobody is giving George credit for the protection he provided us keeping us safe from attacks....

I give Bush credit everyday for keeping us safe. The liberal media does not want us to know exactly how many attacks were prevented in the last 7 years. Now that the DEMS are in control again, it will not be long before the next successful terrorist attack. I guess when that happens, we'll still be blaming Bush! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

You are right its WAR thay have no rights if we got captured off with your HEAD

So lets DROP IT DAM IT ITS WAR

We're still better than the terrorists, but we've become the bad guys with no evidence to show we've done good.

Hey Texas Beach Bum;

What makes you think Bush kept us safe? 9/11 happened on his watch. He was given the information to stop this tragedy and did nothing. Was it reliable information - we will never know - but any information regarding the attack on American soil should have been responded to seriously. Bush did nothing. He had CIA information regarding the 9/11 attackers - he did nothing.

What makes you think any information gleaned from the torturing of these prisoners was viable? What makes you think Bush kept us safe? Prisoners released from Gitmo by the Bush administration went back home and became terrorist because we tortured them. He created hatred for the USA around the world. How is that keeping us safe?

Whether the interrogations worked or not is beside the point. The ends do not justify the means.

For those that lost friends and loved ones on 9/11, I understand your desire for retribution and revenge and even hurt those that hurt you and so many others. However, two wrongs don't make a right. We learned that in school, church, etc. Being the bully in this situation doesn't enhance our security, it brings it down.

What the "enhanced interrogation techniques" did was only to bring us down to a very low level.

I totally agree as to whether the interrogations worked or not which is beside the point.

A certain amount of interrogation is needed in order to get someone to talk or cooperate, but this terroristic "enhanced interrogation technique," was not called for.Even dangerious criminals deserve to be interrogated without being terrorized.

I don't believd this is equiviocal to the Holocaust. But one thing will be clear, the world will be talking about this for a long time. It will be a part of our history. Just as the Holocaust is a part of world history.

If we really desire a moral answer to how our trusted leaders choose to invade Iraq for questionable 'WMD,' we do everything in our power to create a world in which it could never happen again. As any thinking person knows, Bush did not act alone. And neither did Hitler.

Bush could never have done what he did without the help of the CIA, civilians and military might, althoug they did not share his evil vision, they did not have the moral fiver to sy no to it.

Both these examples- the Holocause and Bush's desire to invade Iraq with such force- both of them are products of fear.

I have but one question, "Do you think terrorists care in the way they treat their victims."

I could not agree with you more texas beach bum. I hope it comes soon also. How can this man head the U.S.A. when it's pretty ovious he hates the U.S.A.

Oh I, like, totally agree. Man this Obama guy, like, hates the USA! THAT'S why he disagrees with us!

Or maybe, people agree with you but also view violence as disgusting. Some people never grow up.

Hey "common".........to ignore the mistakes of the past is to repeat them. Do you also think that the holocaust should be ignored? The United States of America should not TORTURE. If we do not prosecute those who lead the process, we say to the rest of the world that the torture of Americans is acceptable too.

I agree with you this Bush hunt is getting old and is a waste of time, I only wish I had enough crying towels to go around. I understand what a lot of these libs are saying and yes the U.S. has a image problem. Who the heck are they trying to kiss up too is beyond me, Who are we trying to impress and do any of these countries care if we are busy trying to hang each other and deal with the real issues, no. Worlds economy is on the verge of collasping, N. Koreans are beating on their chest , China's doing what they want, Fidel is licking his chops since the U.S. wants to kiss his hiny too, that is more sickening than some people doing what they believe is right and doing what they are told. I cannot believe that all these people are so busy Bush bashing that the real issues are slipping by or is it easier to just blame Bush for that too. Obama and the libs need a time out and start acting like adults instead of playing he said, she said BS, there are plenty of things that need to be done. obama said he could handle it, so handle it and quit crying about it already. Don't like what I have to say too bad, I am allowed to have an opinion on the almighty one, it's still a free country for now but obama still has time to change that too.

finally some one that makes sense... quit all this fuss about bush or any other official in his adminstration. we have been safe, even while they cut off heads and sent tapes over tv for us to watch, grow up start to worry how we are going to survive after the president tells everyone how sorry we are for being us. and they go ahead and cut off a few more heads. bomb us again kill a few more of us maybe this time they will get 20,000 of us instead of only 3000. it is time the old people in congress and the house leave for greener pastures ( of course i do not know where they will find a job that give them the power they now have) oh well to bad they darn sure do not care about this country only how to grab more power and money.

Tom:  My God.  You are NOT comparing the Holocaust to being put in a room with a big, scary caterpillar are you?  Wow!

You know, that guy was TERRIFIED of insects. It is like putting a person with a bloody butcher's knife in a small confined room with you. I know that the catapillar would not hurt him, but it is the same kind of fear that he had felt.

PsychSammie I don't care who you are there is a whole world of difference in being put in a room with a catapillar and in a room with someone with a bloody butcher knife. I realize he may not have known that the catapillar was harmless, but your comparison is completely unbalanced.

to ignore the mistakes of the past is to repeat them. Do you also think that the holocaust should be ignored? The United States of America should not TORTURE. If we do not prosecute those who lead the process, we say to the rest of the world that the torture of Americans is acceptable too.

First off comparing the horrendous acts of genocide with an insignificant amount of force applied to criminals who would mean us harm is way over stepping the boundaries of logical conversation. The mere thought of attempting to prosecute fellow Americans who were merely attempting to garner information from people who wanted to kill us is in itself reprehensible. Imagine the Pandora box we would open if that would come to pass, every administration would be an open target of the new administration, it would lead to an even deeper divide in our country as already exists. This is an issue that should have never surfaced and should have long ago been put to bed. This needs to cease immediately.

PsychSammie is right. Whether or not it should be terrifying, itwas terrifying. A good comparison would be making a person with an extreme fear of heights stand on a pole on top of a skyscraper without telling him there was a safety net.

And torture is what we did to innocent civilians who lived in the same countries as terrorists...thus turning them into terrorists. Incidentally, the terrorists were in Afghanistan and not Iraq...we tortured Iraqis because they were Arabs, not because they attacked us.

We picked up Abu Al-Zarquwi one of the top terrorist in Iraq. Iraq and Afghanistan is not even the real threat, they are just staging areas for the real war yet to come. has publicly stated he wants us dead. Do we Americans really hate Arabs? I don't think so, yea there are those who hate others, but they are a minority. The question MSNBC needs to bring up is, do we want to survive a nuclear Iran?

Excuse me, I had a typo. My second sentance was meant as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has publicly stated he wants us dead.

If someone locked me up and tortured me for seven years after I had done nothing, I would probably want them dead, too...heck, I would probably be angry enough to make that statement if I were locked up for no good reason for a night or two. And al-Qaida didn't show up in Iraq until we had cleared the way for them to find a LOT of support through our illegal invasion and prolonged occupation.

The long and short of the matter is that Bush dropped the ball in Afghanistan and now Pakistan is scrambling to survive while the REAL terrorists inch their way closer to functional nuclear weapons (which Saddam NEVER had). Torture didn't solve any problems, thwart any attacks, and in the long term has only produced a whole new crop of terrorists. All this talk of torture making us safer only refers to the pocketbooks of the friends of the Bush administration and the war machine that runs the American empire...their profits are guaranteed for generations.

What is a dicstored idiot ?

First these terrorist are not another country's military. So under the law they are NOT afforded the terms under the Geneva convention since they did not sign it.

Second for them to waterboard our troops would be an upgrade compared to what they do to them if they capture them now. Be headings and stuffing ones testis in ones mouth do not even compare to water boarding.

third how many of the terrorist that we captured were waterboarded, better yet the question should be how many weren't? Funny how we do not hear that number huh? Each individual reacts different to interrogation some are harder to "break" than others and you have to use the means available to you. For every terrrorist waterboarded there were many that weren't.

These means were determined legal at the time. To go back and prosecute folks for this sets a president that once something is deemed illegal then we can go back in time and prosecute folks for breaking a crime that didn't exist at the time they acted.

Doesn't work that way, but you are right no one is above the law and no one can prosecute someone for NOT breaking the law.

Much of the torture was done in Iraq. They weren't terrorists. The terrorists were in Afghanistan. You accept every thing Bush thinks. No wonder you are confused.

You're an idiot!!! The taliban and terrorists do not take captives, they terminate them. They obey no countries laws and have no rights.

Griphon02, although it does not sit well with me, Obama has said he is not interested in prosecuting those who actually did the dirty work, under orders from above. On the other hand, the folks who gave the orders, the folks who so mangled the concept of human rights to justify these heinous acts and call them "legal", the folks who thought it would be a good idea to take everything embodied in the phrase "higher moral ground" and pitch it straight in the trashcan, these folks ought to be tried and jailed for life.

Remember the ending of A Few Good Men? Jack Nickelson as Col. Jessop bellows out "You can't handle the truth!" and then smugly declares that of course he ordered the torture of a young recruit, (because that's what you have to do to keep respect.) To his great surprise, he's immediately arrested and taken away in shackles.

I'd love to see that played out in front of a congressional hearing, with Dick Cheney blusteringly trying to justify how torturing enemy combatants makes us a safer nation.

Oh, and by the way, these guys they tortured, a couple of 'em over a hundred times, had ALREADY given up all the information they knew.

You stupid son of a bitch, our PoWs in other countries ARE water-boarded. And worse.

Matt Maupin is never coming back from captivity in Iraq. When they took him prisoner, they MURDERED him.

"aloud them to sprew there distaste" ???

Clearly, dicstored idiot means an illiterate fool.