Typical for ABC News. Go ahead and trot out a picture (probably faked based on Brian Ross' record) to go along with a story from unnamed sources and provide NO verification of facts. Your efforts to terrorize the American public based on distortion and misrepresentation are clearly coordinated with Terrorsts. I hope you achieve your desired state of gratification the next time a few thousand Americans die as you seem to hope for.

You make me sick!

Has anyone taken a look at Khalid Sheikh Mohamed? The man should be tortured for his bad personal hygene. Yuck!

This is absolutely disgusting. To think that an American government would condone spying on it's own citizens, unlawfully detaining prisoners, torture those prisoners, and deliberately manipulate intelligence reports to conduct an invasion of a sovereign nation makes me absolutely sick.

To think this government would carry out these despicable acts in my name, supported with my tax dollars is revolting.

Throw the bums out. Every damn last one of them. Throw them out.

Gee Steve, if you hate it so much, there are many other countries out there -- pick one. I for one would rather have strong presidents focused on protecting our homeland and citizens (even the ones who don't like the "despicable acts" it takes to stop terrorists), than pandering politicians who care more about world PR than American safety.

Of course, there is another option to the war on terror - we can all convert to Islam. What part of world domination and death to all non-Muslims don't you understand?

[E]ucher,

Once upon a time, there were two documents called the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights (really one in the same, but passed separately). They were, in this mystical time, the sole basis for all law. These two documents were unique, as no other government in the world was based on the theory of individual liberties.

The first document provided for democratic elections, republican government, rule of law, separation of powers, and checks & balances. The second guarenteed the rights of all citizens to do anything that wasn't expressly forbidden by the Constitution or Federal statute; to speak out; to petition government; to assemble; to worship anything, everything, or nothing at all; to receive due process of law; to be secure from unlawful searches (i.e. without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation); and to even carry weapons in order that the government can be held in check. In this mystical past, the government worked. If the citizens were not satisfied with the government, they selected new leaders. Throughout these many years, there were a great many threats. Communist revolutionaries, powerful foreign enemies, plundering pirates, and a terrible, bloody civil war. Yet in each of these cases, the executive acted in order to curtail the threats, while still obeying the law. The United States survived these threats, and outlasted them.

Your US sounds like it has outlived the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I'm pretty ticked off about that! This is my country as much as it is your country as much as it is Steve's country. None of us is trying to start a coup. None of us is trying to get Hugo Chavez to become our president. The Constitution still has meaning in this country. Mr. Bush himself took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend that document above all else. There is no fine print saying, "except when there are monsters with rags on their heads living under the bed." Let us be serious! If we want to be protected by sacrificing all of our liberties, then we have given into fear, the goal of every terrorist there is. It is each and every one of our rights to say, "you know, the president is doing a horrible job...clean house!" It is each and every one of our rights to criticize our government. And, it is each and every one of our rights to demand that the president is subject to the rule of law.

The president is intentionally weak. Our system was created so that the executive would be weak. If you want a powerful president who "protects you," go to Iran. Better yet, go to North Korea - that way you don't even have to become Muslim.

At last we have a president that finishes what he says. We will all miss Bush once he leaves office. Without him our nation will be filled with terrorists, and maybe blown up already. I say we the people re-elect him. Believe me, we need him.

One question to answer is how do people end up in these prisions? I am not an expert on this by any means, but I can imagine that in our haste to find Osama and Co. we have rounded up many more innocent men (and as has been reported) children, than cold-blooded killers. It has been reported that there are teenage boys in Guantanamo Bay. How many of them are guilty of anything? We don't know because the government hasn't charged them with a crime. A guy in Afganistan was picked up, sent to over three of our gulag prisons, beaten, tortured and raped by US Soldiers with a broom handle, and then released with a piece of paper, a certificate, that he was "not a threat to the United States of America." His interogators told him that he was originally picked up him of being a terrorist because he was wearing a Casio digital watch, which could be fasioned to detonate bombs.

This man's story was printed in an issue of Harpers magazine last year. Maybe you say he's lying and that he's a part of a terrorist plot. But stories like his are common, and consitient, and they keep coming out. The CIA torture techniques do deep damage to the human psyche. We need to be more careful.

America, Love it or Fix it.

eucher, do you really believe that any of this makes us safer? There are lots of ways to prevent terrorist attacks, but making even moderate muslims sympathetic with the radical cause ISN'T one of them. Wouldn't it make more sense to ameliorate the conditions that are leading to that radicalization in the first place?

eucher,

I, too, would want a strong president. Problem is, Bush and Co., represent the weakest, as well as, worst, presidency in US history.

The moron itself has stated that Osama "hates our freedoms".

So, everytime Bush and Co. take away another of our freedoms, bin Laden and terrorists everywhere, win.

Everytime the moron itself (Bush&Co - our representatives on the world stage) participates in acts publically despised by bin Laden, terrorists win. (Read what bin Laden says. One of his justifications for "9-11" was the rendition process used by the US, amongst many other accusations)

and,

actually, the Koran never says a non-Muslim must convert. It states that non-Muslims are to be respected, as long as they do not attempt to change Muslims to another religion.

Simple, isn't it?

I agree eucher, I doubt these dangers are wiling to reveal plots of horrific death over brunch, sometimes you do what you have to do, all though I didnt vote for Bush on this matter I do agree

What good are new rules when we have an administration who thinks they are not required to obey the law?

The republicans have always scared easily. Always have been sissy's.Always have scared easily.

Bush knows how to scare them; Our brave Natl guard hero during the 60's. You either went into the army,drafted or joined, chancing going to viet nam or joined the guard or reserves to be "safe"

They bombed the trade center in 91' then 10 years later. They move at their pace.
no checking freight at airports, no border security, & soo many lies to scare these big sissys.
Get these sissys outta here!!

Please, Robert, fewer pronouns-- your post is completely incoherent.

I'm always amazed by the Left's outrage. They are appalled that the government listens in on the overseas phone calls of suspected terrorists, but where was their outrage when the Clinton administration tapped the phones of Catholic Cardinals and other religious leaders (because of their anti-abortion stance) and the oversease phone calls of foreign business (and then pass any information gleaned onto their American competitors)?

I love the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but since when do enemies of the United States receive the same rights and guarantees as a citizen of this country? The Bill of Rights are protections that American citizens have against thier government. The Bill of Rights are not protections that every body in the world have, especially enemies of the United States.

Bush makes us weaker. Hatred and torture will not make us stronger or free. Look at history. The downtrodden will always rise up, and torture never did anything but make people feel downtrodden. Bush is weak. Bush is weak.

Why are conservatives such cowards? Why are they so afraid of the world that at the first say so, they are happily willing to trade in 200+ years of american law and tradition in exchange for some phantom "security"?

The world will always be a dangerous place. The Constition has proven to be able to withstand the threats of the British, the Spanish, the Germans (twice), and Communism. Are you all so afraid of this Al Qaeda threat that you are willing to throw away ythe grand American experiment of the last two centuries?

Dispicible cowards the lot of you conservatives are.

If the President has committed a crime, then impeach him. That's how it works. Repeating he comitted a crime over and over again does not make it true (Plame-gate anyone?). And, as mentioned above, the constitution protects American citizens, no?

> face was covered
> with cellophane, and
> water is poured over it ...

Kids! Try this at home and with your friends. It's a great gag.

Many of you posting above are quite scary. You are the reason our founding fathers put so many checks and balances in our government. They understood how people overreact and can abuse others in the name of expediency or national defense.

Bush is one of the dumber Presidents and worst leaders we have ever seen. The history books will soon take a giant dump on him and his cohorts as they shred the US Constitution.

I am all in favor of a robust defense of our nation. I am in favor of tracking down those that mean us harm and stopping them prior to their mission accomplishment. I do not support us becoming just like the islamofascists who would slit all our throats. What is the point of fighting the war on terror if we are going to give up everything great about the United States of America?

Weak minded ones above talk tough and say we should torture and abuse whoever as the means to a noble end. It is the strong who say we should continue to respect the rule of law, decency and common humanity as we fight to bring our enemies to justice.

Our tortures, Abu Ghrab and other abuses do nothing but fuel terrorist rage. There are enough already. Why should we create more and destroy our rule of law?

Don't use words like fear and cowardice in this debate for one side or the other. Instead, just look at it rationally: if we continue these torture practices, more moderate Muslims will become radicalized. You can call this a PR move, but PR may be what wins this war.

Also, in response to an earlier post: my gov teacher always said Bush would never be impeached, because who want Cheney as president?