tisiphone

Not everyone in the military believes that torture is the way to win a war. Spc. Alyssa Peterson refused to take part in the torture of prisoners in Iraq. She was reprimanded by her commander for "showing empathy" with them. Then she killed herself, seven years ago tomorrow. As the Nuremberg trials should have taught us, "I was ordered to do it" is never the answer, and there is always a choice. That Peterson's choice was between torture and suicide should tell us how far we have descended into depravity.

(And yes, I do mean "we" - anyone that has not taken an active, vocal stand against torture since we have known our government is indulging in this atrocity is complicit. For a time, for reasons that don't excuse me, that included me.)