Reply #150: It's true about Dershowitz.

[berry]

He wrote a book about it too. He defended torture in hypothetical cases where it was believed that the prisoner could be forced to reveal terrorist plans. It was a lesser-of-two-evils kind of argument. The book came out when the country was at the peak of hysteria about terrorism. He may have moderated his ideas by now.

I suppose we also have to wonder about all the detainees here in the US and at Guantanamo. Lots of interrogation going on there too. How would we ever know if similar things are happening, given the secrecy? There won't always be a slip that gives them away.

This is where the value of transparency becomes glaringly obvious--for those with eyes to see, at least. Painful though it is.