It's not reasonable to twist my position to suggest I'm advocating "torture of anyone the government wants." You have issues concerning the definition of "torture" and of whether individual circumstances should be taken into account. I suspected you'd object to my "ticking time bomb" scenario, but the capture of a Zarqawi or other high-value target is quite realistic. We've already captured any number of Bin Laden's lietenants, starting with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- remember him? Reports are that we've gotten valuable, life-saving information from many of them, including Mohammed.

In an entirely different context, I just read a passage from a book that is simply too good not to pass along. The author related that he was discussing the adage that "the ends do not justify the means." To which, the author reported, a colleague responded, "If an end cannot justify a means, what can?"

Getting back to the language of the McCain Amendment itself, I'm attaching a cite to a column explaining the problem in greater depth.

• "McCain and Miranda"