Torture, Iraq, and Our Guilt

Two weeks ago, Nov. 18, I reported on the following story that has just now appeared on the newswires. It should come as no surprise that most Americans support torture in the "right" situations.

The AP has done its own poll and published the results today. According to that poll, 61 percent believe in the use of torture in various circumstances. This seems to contradict a previous poll done last year by ABC, which found that only 35 percent of the public believed in the use of torture.

When faced with an assumed threat to one's own family, the logic goes, anyone should and would do anything to save them. The same applies--if not moreso--when hundreds of perhaps millions of people are at risk, as in the case of a theoretical terrorist bioligical or nuclear attack.

Indeed, were a person running for political deny this, no doubt in most people's minds, that would make them the wrong person to vote for. Remember the question put to former presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, about someone who had raped and killed his family. He answered that he would not want that person to be executede for his/her crime. The first Bush' campaign rode that view to victory that November.

I will return to this in a while...