Can I have some torture with my turkey?

William Pfaff in the IHT, via Common Dreams:"Destroying cities and torturing prisoners are things you do when you are losing the real war, the war your enemies are fighting. They are signals of moral bankruptcy. They destroy the confidence and respect of your friends, and reinforce the credibility of the enemy."

Pfaff also notes: "The United States has never before officially practiced torture. It was not deemed necessary in order to defeat Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan. Its indirect costs are enormous: in their effect on the national reputation, their alienation of international opinion, and their corruption of the morale and morality of the American military and intelligence services."

And then:

"It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Bush administration is not torturing prisoners because it is useful but because of its symbolism. It originally was intended to be a form of what later, in the attack on Iraq, came to be called "shock and awe." It was meant as intimidation. We will do these terrible things to demonstrate that nothing will stop us from conquering our enemies. We are indifferent to world opinion. We will stop at nothing."

Here's a question to ponder, though: Which enemies are the Administration trying to scare? The enemies of the state? Or those of the Republican party? Or have the state and the party merged in the person of George W. Bush, Our Leader, so that there is no criticizing one without being the enemy of the other?