9/11 Justice -- Or Revenge -- At Any Cost
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
This week the government charged six men they believe are connected to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The six alleged terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will face a military tribunal presumably later this year.
The cases against these men will come from interrogations done by the CIA and the military since their capture. The government has said that at least one of the detainees was waterboarded and several others were subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques".
Will these kinds of confessions stand up in court? Should they even be admissible? No wonder no one from the Bush Administration wants to say waterboarding is torture. President Bush has said repeatedly that the United States doesn't use torture.
Can you imagine a case with the death penalty in the balance that is based upon coerced information? Americans want justice, and probably revenge, for the 9/11 attacks. How much of our own sense of right and wrong are we willing to sacrifice to get it?
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on many CBS Radio News affiliates across the country.