This is part of a project, coordinated in conjunction with the American Security Project, "non-profit, bipartisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges." The project solicited opinion pieces against torture from names you may not recognize, as well as those well-known, such as Jimmy Carter, General Wesley K. Clark, Chris Dodd, Richard Armitage, Chuck Hagel, Lee H. Hamilton & Thomas H. Kean (chairmen of the 9-11 Comission), Richard Lugar, Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson and Nancy Pelosi. Barr is the former Congressman ... More »

This opinion piece by a former US Congressman gets right down to basics, with no euphemisms allowed: "When forced to answer questions regarding torture, as in the recent debate surrounding the technique known as waterboarding, administration officials dismiss such discussions as improper talk of vital national security matters; denigrate and dismiss such discussions as "silly," as Vice President Dick Cheney did in a recent interview; or deflect criticism by adding a waffle word in front of the operative term and sliding away." The author rightly castigates not only he present presidential administration, but the media as well for its own shortcomings when it comes to the subject of torture: "The administration and its supporters ... More »

Thoughtful opinion piece about waterboarding and the use of torture by the U.S. government. The author makes a reasonable case that the Bush administration's lack of clarity on this issue and refusal to discuss it weakens us as a society. Though his point is well taken, I would have liked to hear more counter-arguments from opposing viewpoints, even if they turn out to be unfounded.