TheStar.com - Justifying torture brings shame to U.S.: "Justifying torture brings shame to U.S.


The Bush administration assures the country, and the world, that it is complying with U.S. and international laws banning torture and maltreatment of prisoners.
But, breaking with a practice of openness that had lasted for decades, it has classified as secret and refused to disclose the techniques of interrogation it is using on foreign detainees at U.S. prisons at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan and Iraq.
This is a matter of grave concern because the use of some of the methods that have been reported in the press is regarded by independent experts as well as some of the Pentagon's legal professionals as illegal.
The administration has responded that its civilian lawyers have certified its methods as proper � but it has refused to disclose, or even provide to Congress, the justifying opinions and memos."