Sunday Meeting: Torture Is Bad For America

It feels too gruesome to talk about, but perhaps that is why we should.

Though the basic outlines of the abuse of detainees throughout the early stages of “The War and Terrorism” have long been known, the exhaustive and recently published report of the Senate Intelligence Committee elaborates patterns of brutalization far more extensive and violative than assumed. Moreover, the CIA’s withholding of the torture program from superiors has transformed this sorrow episode of American history into a rogue operation. It does not speak well for our democracy.