GOP’s political weapon has a nasty kick

Re “Detainee Bill Boosts the GOP,” Sept. 30

It’s hard to understand why such a disastrous piece of legislation would “boost” anyone who had a part in its passage. Such a gross insult to what it means to be American would have previously been unimaginable any time in the postwar era. We are about to vest in the president the power to order anyone detained indefinitely in a military prison regardless of where they are -- on U.S. soil or outside the country. Detainees are cut off from any meaningful judicial review. They can be subject to torture with no recourse, and all of this happens on the unchecked say-so of the Bush administration.

Our laws reflect our values and beliefs. I hope all citizens recognize that our laws are about to codify one of the most dangerous and defining powers of tyranny -- one of the very powers this nation was founded in order to prevent.

MICHAEL K. FINNIGAN

Encino

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Republicans think passage of legislation on the handling of “enemy combatants” has given them a powerful weapon to wield against Democrats: the dreaded “soft on terrorism” label. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) says Democrats are “bent on protecting criminals.” Republicans apparently assume that all detainees are terrorists. Therefore, it’s OK to abuse, even to torture, these bad guys who must be coerced into revealing their secrets.

No one doubts that some detainees are very dangerous, but we know that innocent people have been subjected to harsh treatment. Even terrorist suspects should be treated humanely and given the right to due process. Abusive interrogations are not only immoral but ineffective. The terrorist threat will increase if world opinion grows more widely and deeply anti-American. In the real war on terrorism -- the struggle for hearts and minds -- Republicans are still getting it wrong.

CATHY RAGLAND

San Pedro