The paid advertisement headlined “Torture” on Pages A6 and A7 on Feb. 23, “Iwo Jima Day,” which was endorsed by 26 retired flag officers, would ask: “Whose side are they on?”

What purpose would it serve to release the Senate Intelligence Committee report? Do we need to know? To what avail?

This post-9/11 world has removed the fun of flying. This post-9/11 world has hindered me from entering state capitols. This post-9/11 world has made me watch all backpacks in public places. Our cellphones are monitored.

The group Human Rights First sponsored the advertisement Feb. 23. Were the last thoughts that passed through the 19 hijackers of 9/11 “Human Rights First”? More than 3,000 innocent people paid with their lives.

The post-9/11 world has no country to bargain with. Japan, Germany and Russia are a shadow of their former selves. Today, there are unidentified terrorists who shop at Walmart and attend American colleges and universities while living among us.

Would any American allow any form of torture within the borders of America? The post-9/11 world has made us tolerant of these practices. How many terrorism attempts have been stopped? If only one, it is worth it.

We pride ourselves as a benevolent and just society, and it has cost us. We will always remain just, but if it takes torture outside these United States, so be it.

We have inherited a vile and hurtful world that knows no bounds. To save us, we are doing things.

Do we need to know? What purpose would it serve?

We learn by doing.

David S. Kaler

Bath