The necessary national dialogue on torture too often has been reduced to the question of how effective torture has been in extracting useful, “actionable” information that might help in defense against terrorist attacks.

It is absolutely the wrong question to ask in a society that lays claim to the slightest adherence to moral principles.

“Does torture work?” is the sort of question that should be thrown into the trash bin along with others such as “Is slavery profitable?” or “Is genocide a cure for overpopulation?”

Val C. Hart

Cumberland