But when it comes to torture I am sure the CIA knows, KNOWS, that:

1. No matter what some prostitute lawyer says it is illegal
2. No matter what some torture advocate says it rarely if ever produces reliable intel
3. When you take directions from a politician, such as Addington or Cheney or whoever, you are hitching your future to a puff of smoke.
4. The torture advocates saw a political window that would allow it and so they did it.
5. The idea that the CIA is going to lose credibility with the intelligence community because the government punished those that authorized torture is a fig leaf. Everyone, I would bet, said at some time, “If the lid comes off there will be a huge scream.” But they convinced someone that it was worth it. They capitalized on the fear of the decision makers that if there was another 9/11 the intelligence community would be blamed for not discovering it in advance.

I contend that that kind of thinking could be applied to twist the conscience and morals, it could be used to politically blackmail, it could be used to intimidate the folks in this world who have lost their moral compass.

All this simply points to the fact that STRONG MORAL leadership must be in charge, when an agency or department has such power.

Torture is a crime. Punish those that authorized it. Then punish those that did it.

If this is done we should be free of the temptation in the future for a long time. Without punishment we will be a nation that says, “Do as I say, not as I do.” With punishment we might be embarrassed internationally, (I doubt it as they already know anyway) but we can say it was an aberration that will never happen again.

But when it comes to torture I am sure the CIA knows, KNOWS, that:

1. No matter what some prostitute lawyer says it is illegal
2. No matter what some torture advocate says it rarely if ever produces reliable intel
3. When you take directions from a politician, such as Addington or Cheney or whoever, you are hitching your future to a puff of smoke.
4. The torture advocates saw a political window that would allow it and so they did it.
5. The idea that the CIA is going to lose credibility with the intelligence community because the government punished those that authorized torture is a fig leaf. Everyone, I would bet, said at some time, “If the lid comes off there will be a huge scream.” But they convinced someone that it was worth it. They capitalized on the fear of the decision makers that if there was another 9/11 the intelligence community would be blamed for not discovering it in advance.

I contend that that kind of thinking could be applied to twist the conscience and morals, it could be used to politically blackmail, it could be used to intimidate the folks in this world who have lost their moral compass.

All this simply points to the fact that STRONG MORAL leadership must be in charge, when an agency or department has such power.

Torture is a crime. Punish those that authorized it. Then punish those that did it.

If this is done we should be free of the temptation in the future for a long time. Without punishment we will be a nation that says, “Do as I say, not as I do.” With punishment we might be embarrassed internationally, (I doubt it as they already know anyway) but we can say it was an aberration that will never happen again.