Follow These Two

Defining Presidential Power
"What Would Dick Do?" By Stuart Taylor Jr. and Evan Thomas (Jan. 19) seems little more than a defense of Vice President Cheney's tactics and policies during the Bush administration—policies that include the most basic human-rights abuse, torture. Several authorities on interrogation techniques (including military personnel) contend that most information collected by means of torture is basically useless. It violates international law and puts our own captured military personnel at risk. It shames us globally and destroys our credibility when we call for human rights abroad. Far from discouraging terrorism, we generate new terrorists and give fresh ammunition to our enemies. We have lost our collective soul when we not only fail to oppose torture, but also applaud it as heroic and necessary to our nation's security. It is neither.
Juli Kring
Houston, Texas

The analysis of Obama's potential tactics in the war on terror overlooks a crucial point: those who would harm Americans will be motivated to do so by continuing to do what Cheney did—imprisonment without charge and torture. Indeed, we would do well to drop the very term "war on terror," as it is often equated with "war on Islam." These people are neither ignorant nor irrational, only desperate and threatened. That is why taking the high moral ground in a possible release and trial of Guantánamo "detainees" may have us lose an occasional battle but win the "war."
Mike Duncan
Moab, Utah

NEWSWEEK spends eight years criticizing the Bush administration for its handling of the war on terror, and then—before Barack Obama's inauguration—confidently reports that the situation "may not be so simple"? Bush and Cheney understood something that I pray President Obama does as well: the only reason the 9/11 terrorists didn't kill 30,000 instead of 3,000 is that they couldn't. They're still trying, though, and I hope some of the knee-jerk criticism of the Bush administration finally becomes grounded in the reality of the times we lived (and live) in.
John Sponauer
Southington, Connecticut

Our torture/detentions policy has caused significant blowback in the Muslim world. Ask any knowledgeable person and he or she will tell you that our policy and military presence in Muslim lands have done more to swell the ranks of militants than anything else. Look no further than Colin Powell (someone who is partly responsible for the failed Iraq War), who has lamented the flawed policy and the damage it has done to America's standing.
Ravi Mahalingam
Los Angeles, California

Far better than trying to suggest what Obama might learn from Dick Cheney would be what the new administration, Congress and the American people should unlearn: secrecy, distortion, intimidation and infringements of international law, human rights and constitutional principles. Too much harm was done for equivocation.
David W. Long
West Chester, Pennsylvania

You ignore the fact that torture is immoral and leads to false confessions. False confessions supply a government with bad intelligence that can be used to ramp up fear. They also lead to wild-goose chases rather than bringing terrorists to justice. And we should call for the return of the Fourth Amendment. It is naive to think that warrantless eavesdropping wouldn't be used on political rivals. Remember Richard Nixon? We have a guiding star on how to deal with torture and illegal wiretaps: the Constitution. America is the "land of the free" because it is the "home of the brave."
Doug Zimmerman
Columbus, Ohio

These terror suspects are neither stupid nor inclined to tell the truth. Armed with their false information, we'd waste time and resources. Abuses generated by this policy would follow, and we would still be in a class with the rogue nations that pursue torture.
Virgil Freshour
Vida, Oregon

© 2009