Although journalist Ron Suskind is on the right side — the only side — of the issue, NPR dignifies his opponents by including an interview with him on his new book in a series debating the merits of the use of torture. Debating the merits? I know there are all sorts of situational ethical frameworks, usually discussed in undergraduate philosophy courses, in which hairs can be split about the ends justifying the means in this situation but not that, but there are also some moral absolutes. Indeed, Suskind’s argument, that torture backfires in terms of weighing the costs and benefits accruing to the US from our practices, misses the boat and leaves a door open to the Dershowitzs who simply weigh the costs and benefits differently. We have become the animals we detest.