How can Obama not change rules?

I have reread the entry from Kathy Garrett on May 7 a half dozen times now and every time it leaves me shaking my head: "... explain to me how the current White House administration can change a ruling on interrogation techniques that the previous administration deemed acceptable?" she writes.

First of all, let's call it what it is. For centuries, Western civilization has defined waterboarding as "torture," not merely an "interrogation technique." Our justice system has successfully prosecuted our own citizens and those of other countries for that act. We had no choice but to end this practice, which robs the victim of their human dignity and forces the torturer to commit acts which place them outside our society's acceptable norms. Secondly, she should ask herself how the previous administration managed to deem this practice acceptable.

President Obama has gone half way in correcting this egregious violation of our nation's laws and treaties by eliminating the torture of anyone in our custody. He can't go much further, since the Office of Legal Counsel for the previous administration provided some legal cover in the form of memos that attempt to define certain forms of torture as acceptable. His administration needs to go further by appointing a special prosecutor to determine who asked for these memos and who used them to create this abusive and disgusting program.

People like Ms. Garrett need to understand that it doesn't matter what "they" did. History will judge us by what "we" did.

Terrorism only works if we let it work. The only thing that will "destroy America and our Constitution" is if we let our fear be exploited to force us into making rash decisions that violate our core principles.

Michael Franquelli

Elgin