There are a lot of Republicans that say what we did to the detainees at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and other blacksite prisons was not torture.  That represents an increasingly small number, though, as the release of the torture memo's and the imminent release of more stomach churning photo's has made it very hard for them to argue that position and not be seen as an ignorant uninformed fool. But unfortunately - the position they are now taking further illustrates  the darkness that lies within them. If you can be for torture - your soul died a long time ago.

I put them into two groups.  There are those who are seriously worked up by the issue.  They have a totally misguided view of the world, and believe America is right in everything we do.  When pressed - they loudly proclaim "So what - it's torture but REMEMBER 9/11!! - REMEMBER WHAT THEY DID TO US!! THESE PEOPLE ARE SAVAGES!!!!!"  - and just as their heads are about to explode fall to their knees, rip off their shirt - holding both hands in the air and look toward the sky screaming ISLAMO-FASCISM!!!!!  People like Bill O'reilly belong in this category.  These are actually the ones don't scare me as bad.

The ones who frighten me are the ones who probably knew it was torture all along.  They took the other position because it was politically necessary for them to do so.  But they believed we were torturing people about the same time as the reports started coming out a few years back and those on the left started to voice concern.  And as the controversy grew and more evidence came out - they became certain that we tortured.  They don't get worked up over it - it is just a fact.  Ya - we tortured - "so what".  (Like Dick Cheney said when he was told a majority of the American people didn't support his wars).  People like Sean Hannity (who may get worked up on TV - but that's for entertainment value.) 

The reason I fear the people in group 2 more is not because they've come yet another step toward the cliff.  When they can support torture, is it REALLY that hard to convince themselves to get a gun and wipe out a school?  No.  Does their heart have to grow that much blacker before they can start construction on their own private torture chamber in the backyard - and they start salivating just thinking of which minority they will bring home first?  No - sadly it doesn't.  They are very close to the edge.

But I believe there is one final step they can take in order to step off that cliff and reach a point of no return. Very soon it will become clear that some of the detainees died during the brutal torture we inflicted.  We took a human being into a room, and provided severe, brutal and unyielding torture on them until nothing was left was a lifeless corpse.  I can just imagine the silence in the room, the CIA torturers standing there, still looking at the dead detainee on the floor.  Hopefully they would have had have not been desensitized enough by what their government had demanded that they would still be able to throw up. 

If their (group 2 people) reaction when you question them is still "So" you should turn and RUN as fast as you can, because most likely they are thinking of what they'll do with your skin after they cut the meat from your bones.  Trust me - just look in their eyes and you'll know.  Just don't look too long - you don't want to be hypnotized and not be able to run.