Is it true that the ONLY way for America to remain Safe is to Torture People?

[Winterblues]

This is what all of the Top Republicans are now saying and we all know they have Never been wrong about anything..If as they say the ONLY way America can remain a Safe and Secure Nation is by Torturing people then there needs to be an investigation to determine why Obama is not keeping us safe. We need an Independent Prosecutor to determine if indeed the ONLY way we can be safe is by Torture..If that is the kind of nation we should be then let's get to it..

[spanone]

1. it's criminal...just ask the hague

[KansDem]

2. I do this in my neighborhood...

If I suspect a neighbor might threaten me, I grab him and take him to my garage. Then I waterboard him until I get the right answers. Works every time!

Oh, and I put on a ski mask before I start interrogating him with enhanced techniques...:crazy:

[gratuitous]

3. That seems indeed to be the Republican argument

And if it is true, I suppose one could counterargue that the United States described in the Constitution is dead.

[CTyankee]

4. IMO, it always was dead. No sooner had the ink dried on the Constitution

than the new republic's leaders started passing the Alien and Sedition Act and it went on from there.

IMO the Constitution is just a piece of paper that makes us feel good about ourselves. The minute there's a threat the people clamor for throwing the Constitution to the four winds. There's ALWAYS an exception...

[Echo In Light]

5. The "war on terror" is phony, so what does that say about the need to torture Afghani goat farmers?

[Toucano]

6. Yes, it is. Also, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. n-t

[valerief]

7. I think the risk of torture shut up a lot of people in the Bush administration. nt

[CJCRANE]

8. RW terrorists are also a big threat...

so according to Republican logic suspected extreme RWers should be rounded up and tortured.

[dgibby]

10. Can we start with Darth?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. At one time I didn't even realize it was a debatable question

Seems like every President before GWB managed to keep our country safe without torturing/indefinitely detaining/subjecting suspected terrorists to military tribunals AFAIK.
After WW2 and our prosecution of several members of the Axis powers for sanctioning/conducting the same forms of torture Cheney, et. al are now arguing are paramount to protecting our country, I thought it was pretty well resolved what is and what is not acceptable treatment of detainees. The very fact that the issue has been "muddied" so much by Bushco is very troubling and, I fear, there is a real possibility that those that ordered, authorized, sanctioned, or engaged in it are going to get away scot-free, making it possible (probable) that it is likely to happen again in the future.