And that someone would be John McCain. McCain has long argued that the Bush Administration overstepped its legal authority by approving techniques like waterboarding, and has successfully championed two efforts to try to limit the White House to the plain language of international treaties, which ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. McCain has also spoken in opposition to other techniques in the CIA arsenal like sleep deprivation and the use of stress positions, both of which were employed by the North Vietnamese during McCain's captivity as a prisoner of war and may still be employed by the CIA.

I can truly appreciate your concern for your nephews, and it is wonderful they have family who are concerned for their safety.

However, what any Al Qa-ida interrogator or POW guard will or will not do will not change in any matter whether the US puts up all prisoners at the Palmer House in Chicago with 24/7 room service or let's everyone out after photo/prints on their own recognizance.

Their mindset and actions are based on their motives and not our prisoner handling or interrogation methods, as they have shown over and over again against not just allied military , but also the civilians from many other nations who are within Iraq and Afghanistan and have been taken and abused by Al Qa-Ida for no reason other than being there to give aid, report the news, or just pave the roads.

As far as Al Qa-ida is concerned, they are what they are, and are also content to render extreme harm and death on fellow Iraqis and Afghanis. They just don't care.......

I have tremendous respect for Sen. McCain and what he and others endured. That being said, he never has had the responsibility to collect, process, analyze and disseminate intelligence products. That would be like an intelligence specialist commenting on Naval Air and tactical close air support operations - how close to friendly lines is too close, and whether certain types of ordnance (napalm, high explosive, etc.) are appropriate or inhumane. Again, as with any elected official, being elected does not make you an expert - it just gives you access to public forum.

Steve....thank you for understanding my concern. I have found that even though my nephews are grown I still have a mental picture of each of them frozen in time.

I do think that there are real threats from Muslim extremist's which have to be dealt with. On that we can agree....perhaps we will have to agree to disagree on the waterboarding issue.

Take Care.

I can appreciate the feelings of those who feel 'the moral high ground' regarding enhanced interrogation techniques. However, are you willing to put you money, in other words your family's lives, on the line. We know on the basis of statements of two heads of the CIA, George Tenant and Porter Goss, that these techniques have proven invaluable and have saved many lives.

I, for one, want my two sons who are in the military to be provided with every bit of intelligence that can help them stay alive. Others here may believe that it is perfectly OK if the children or grandchildren's lives are lost when the loss could have been prevented. I do not understand your way of thinking. You believe that lives, such as Cologal's nephews, are expendable just to make you feel good!? If you feel that way, fine, take a gun and shoot them yourself - save Al Qa-ida the trouble. Just do not needlessly endanger my sons.

I'm with you, BBQMan. I have never understood this thinking. It blows my mind.

All the best! And the next time you speak to your nephews, please thank them from me for their service.