I hate to get all macro on you again: Regarding torturing the Iraqi prisoners: As for those individuals, I could just about care less. If they are trying to kill our troops or our contractors, then no punishment is really too much.

On the other hand, we should never condone inhumane treatment of prisoners under our watch. That doesn't mean we can't f*ck with their minds, belittle them, or spit on the graves of their ancestors in order to get them to talk. But, when we treat them no better than Uday did members of the Iraqi Olympic squad, then I think we have to take a step back. Clearly, hooding them and putting electrodes around their nuts is beyond the pale. If we want our POWs to be treated humanely then, we have an obligation to do the same.

Of course, the matter revolves around the Rumsfeld definition of POW. If he can put guys in Gitmo for years without due process because they are "enemy combatants" and not members of a "lawful" militia, then I suppose you can just as easily say the guys in the prisons over in Iraq aren't POWs either. I just think that quibbling gets you nowhere at the end of the day.

Or at the very least, don't take pictures you idiots.