Torture and the rule of law

"...the Bush administration’s abuses illustrate (in a concrete way) precisely why we should care about the rule of law. It’s a story as old as Ulysses. Law exists because man is weak, and captive to passions. We bind ourselves ahead of time to the mast, because we know we’ll be unreliable if, say, a couple dozen terrorists attack our cities."

From a review of Jane Meyer's book, "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals", by Publius.

To me, the saddest thing about the Bush admimistration's response to 9/11, or perhaps it is fair to say America's response, is how small we looked. Granted, the attacks were horrific, but it is dismaying how disproportionate was...and has been...our response. And how sadly comic some of that response has been, nowhere more visible and risible than the shoe-removal lines at every airport in the country.