I only rarely buy the old “end justifies the means” argument. In addition, attempting to elicit information via torture tends to yield very spotty and inaccurate information - those who do not have any to give will give false intel, and those who do have useful information will likely do almost anything to prevent you from getting it, and likely have been trained in methods of resisting torture and inserting false information in such a way that it sounds real (and costs a lot of money to check into).

The definition of torture by the Bush administration is the Lack of a Definition of Torture. If you don’t define it, then they do not break the law, and can make statements like “The United States does not torture.” and “The United States does not move detainees internationally for the purpose of torture.” Well of course we don’t, because they refuse to let it be defined or restricted. If you were apalled at what Sadam did to this woman, you have no choice but to be apalled at this administration’s policy on torture. If you can not see the comparison, then you’re blinded by your own idealism that America can do nothing wrong so long as we’re Americans (and fighting evil).