Opinion in Brief: Tortured logic
In pushing for Congress to accept his definition of torture in place of the one provided by the Geneva Conventions, President Bush has started down a road of hair-splitting logic that threatens the safety of our soldiers abroad. If we can decide on our own definition of humane treatment, what stops other countries from choosing theirs as well?
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has warned in a letter that redefining torture could cause us to lose the moral high ground in the war on terror.
In pushing for Congress to accept his definition of torture in place of the one provided by the Geneva Conventions, President Bush has started down a road of hair-splitting logic that threatens the safety of our soldiers abroad. If we can decide on our own definition of humane treatment, what stops other countries from choosing theirs as well?
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has warned in a letter that redefining torture could cause us to lose the moral high ground in the war on terror. In a Rose Garden press conference last Friday, Bush could only respond that it is “unacceptable” to comare our actions with those of the terrorists.and that “they want to attack us again.”
The threat of terrorism is a given. The question is if we should let terrorists drag down our standards.
