Situational Torture

Recently we learned that as long as there is a good reason, torture is okay.  

The Justice Department has told Congress that American intelligence operatives attempting to thwart terrorist attacks can legally use interrogation methods that might otherwise be prohibited under international law.  

While the Geneva Conventions prohibit "outrages upon personal dignity," a letter sent by the Justice Department to Congress on March 5 makes clear that the administration has not drawn a precise line in deciding which interrogation methods would violate that standard, and is reserving the right to make case-by-case judgments.

Now some might think that this could be used to justify any illegal act by claiming you were defending the country.  Au contraire says an anonymous State Department official:

I certainly don't want to suggest that if there's a good purpose you can head off and humiliate and degrade someone.  The fact that you are doing something for a legitimate security purpose would be relevant, but there are things that a reasonable observer would deem to be outrageous. There are certainly things that can be insulting that would not raise to the level of an outrage on personal dignity.

No, it doesn't really make any sense and it doesn't actually respond to the concerns raised, but it does have enough doubletalk to leave the reader scratching his/her head.

On a more humorous note, the New York Times tells us that:

Determining the legal boundaries for interrogating terrorism suspects has been a struggle for the Bush administration.

No, not really.  Their struggle has been keeping their illegal interrogation methods and overseas prisons a secret.  That's been the real bitch.