Cal Thomas Backs Torture To 'Save Lives'

By: E&P Staff At The Washington Post's online "On Faith" section, the subject of torture was raised today, in the wake of the Mukasey/waterboarding debate. Susan Jacoby came out fully against the U.S. embracing it in any form, but Cal Thomas, whose column is syndicated in hundreds of newspapers, backed it under certain circumstances.

Here is his statement from the www.washingtonpost.com site.
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By that I assume it is meant torture by the West, since terrorists are famous for using all sorts of torture, including physical, mental and religious torture, such as forced conversion.

There is a double standard when it comes to this subject. We in the West are supposed to adhere to certain rules so we "won't be like them." But if the other side adheres to no rules and sees our standards as a form of weakness, such things are counter-productive to our objectives.

It is not coincidental that the trailer for the new season of the TV series "24" features Jack Bauer testifying before a congressional committee on the subject of torture. Bauer is asked if he defends torture and responds that if it is needed to save lives, he will use it.

That seems to me to be the proper balance if it is reasonably certain the person being tortured (and how do we define torture?) has information that will save innocent lives. To do otherwise might satisfy certain civil libertarians, but they should know that terrorists do not discriminate between those who favor torture and those who oppose it.