Each time I write anything objecting to the Bush administration's use of torture, I get dozens of e-mails from self-styled "realists." Some of my correspondents offer unprintable suggestions on punishments that should be meted out to people — like me, presumably — who just "don't get it" about terrorism. But my more polite correspondents make some variant of the following argument: "Ms. Brooks: It's easy for you armchair critics to condemn torture as immoral. But though torture is not pretty, we need to get the information necessary to save American lives, and sometimes torture is the only way to make hardened terrorists talk." Here's my answer: You're right, torture can make even hardened terrorists talk. But before you decide that it's a worthy interrogation tool, study the case of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi.
For Most Understand 'What You Do You Receive In Return, Retaliation On Your Fellow Soldiers'!
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