The allegations of torture

Anybody who knows me would hardly portray me as a liberal. I'm more like a libertarian. So, I take neither liberal nor conservative dogma at face value. I think on my own.

While the latest report of Amnesty International portraying the United States as a major abuser of the rights of political prisoners seems a bit over the top and overly strident, the refusal of the United States to permit neutral third-party observers complete access to the facilities is troubling.

What needs to be separated is torture by policy and torture by individuals in violation of policy. This is not always easy to distinguish because much can be done with a wink and a nod by underlings who perceive that their superiors are willing to turn a blind eye to certain bendings of the rules.

While Amnesty International is losing credibility in the eyes of the U.S., clearly it is having an impact on the perception of the U.S. worldwide, so a dispassionate, neutral investigation would seem to be called for.

If we have nothing to hide, that is. Which we should not.