But there is no guarantee you will get the information. The only thing that is certain is that you will be a torturer. To use your own analogy: if the suspect were someone you cared deeply about, would you sanction torture in order to save the 3 unknown?

There was an interesting show on HBO last night "Strip Search". Basically, two "detainees" - one a US citizen in China, the other an Arab man in the US. I suppose the message was that you could expect this sort of thing to happen in China, but it seems discordant in the US. But, in fact, the scene has probably been played out in some FBI office since 9.11. Indeed, as the show points out, some 700 people have been "detained" since 9.11; 400 some were illegal aliens and deported, 4 were American citizens - held without due process.

The beginning and ending were the same - the question is posed, "If you were guaranteed that all terrorism would be erradicated, would you give up all of your rights for one day? for a week? a month? a year? etc..

Though I was disappointed with the show (not as clear cut and hard-hitting as I would've liked) I hope that it stirs some discussion. It asks some very basic questions - much like this one, that Americans need to ask themselves and then understand what the ramifications are.

What is the cost of freedom? What is the cost of civility? What is the cost of guaranteeing that no innocent men be imprisoned? Sometimes the costs are high. That doesn't mean we shouldn't pay.

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In this country, we don't need reasons to make things legal; we need reasons to make things illegal. - Startup