Here's the rub.

What do you do with an enemy who is intentionally targeting innocent
civilians? Such as al quaida.

If you have an enemy combatant in custody, and you believe that said
enemy combatant has information regarding impending attacks on said
civilian targets, what do you do?

As an American citizen, I want my government to do *anything* it takes
to extract that information from the enemy combatant, who, by the way,
by not wearing the uniform and fighting under the banner of a country,
does not qualify for protection under the Geneva Convention.

While the principles of not resorting to torture are noble to be sure, I
am *not* willing to sacrifice the lives of my family and myself to
uphold that lofty principle.

In conflict after conflict, from Bataan to Hanoi to Somalia to Iraq, our
enemy has proven that they have not the slightest hesitation in
torturing our soldiers - our high standards not withstanding. So the
argument that we need to take the high road to prevent future
mistreatment of our soldiers falls flat under the weight of the facts.

Just the opinion of one American civilian who has the highest respect
and gratitude for the service of our fighting men and women, and wants
to give them the benefit of every tool imaginable to protect us.

Charlie