A Case of Tortured Logic

Re “Rewriting the Laws of War for a New Enemy,” Commentary, Feb. 1: Robert J. Delahunty and John C. Yoo have it all wrong. They argue, essentially, that since terrorists and “pseudo-states” do not play by the rules of the Geneva Convention, neither should we. This ignores the real problem: Do we want to denigrate ourselves to the level of terrorists and their sponsors or do we hold ourselves to a higher standard: that torture is never acceptable?

The issue at stake is not really the Geneva Convention, or whether our enemies abide by it. The central issue, in reality, is how we perceive ourselves and how others around the world perceive us. There is nothing to gain from the inhumane treatment of prisoners, only a self-inflicted wound to our character.

Aaron Isaacs

Rotterdam, the Netherlands

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Delahunty and Yoo worked hard to convince me that I should throw away my ideas of what it is to be an American and instead adopt their philosophy that any means that get us to the “proper” end are acceptable. They argue that the only reason that we signed the Geneva accords was to ensure that our POWs wouldn’t be tortured, so since we are dealing with groups that don’t play by those rules, we should suspend the rules. I disagree.

I believe that we should still play by those rules -- even if we could get information from those that we capture by “soft” torture -- just because we’re Americans. Yes, it might even cost us some of our countrymen’s lives, but when we stoop to the level of those who oppose us, we aren’t any better than they are. As a nation, we claim to represent democracy and freedom at its best. We need to work harder to accomplish our ends by morally acceptable means.

J. R. Randall

Diamond Bar

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This appalling commentary is nothing but a defense of policies that advocate torture, abuse and the stripping of human rights protections.

No matter our enemy, it is how we ourselves behave that truly matters, for that is what will offer some measure of protection to our citizens. And for that we need the Geneva Convention, as well as national laws that make observance mandatory. It is the line that should never be crossed and nothing, not even the perversion of “national security,” should permit it. Delahunty and Yoo are nothing but apologists for torture. We must repudiate this practice.

Gary E. Kaminski

Buena Vista, Pa.