Torture/Abuse Memos

Here is an editorial that restates many of my arguments on the torture memos and how they relate or don't relate to Abu Ghraib.

The good, if under-reported, news is that the pile of documents released by the Bush Administration this week effectively rebuts the charges of "torture" that have been flying around. While White House and Justice Department lawyers did explore the legal limits of permissible interrogation techniques--something it would have been irresponsible not to do after 9/11--it turns out that none of the practices actually authorized even comes close to the abuses depicted in the photos from Abu Ghraib prison.

Abu Ghraib hurt the war effort because it places doubt on whether or not we are the 'good guys.' Many Americans, to our credit, are willing to support a war only if we are in the right. Despite the shocking nature of these photos it is important to remember that these were abberations. The vast majority of our troops in Iraq are good people. Removing Saddam and working toward democracy in Iraq are good things.