When Standing Up Is Falling Down

This administration's Stay the Course project equals building up Iraq's police force and army so that when they stand up, we can stand down. But when they stand up, the question is: how does this differ from Saddam's regime, in which the army and a repressive police force were used to subdue the citizenry?

Now we've added a new dimension to make this equation work: Saddam-style torture. We have institutionalized this approach with our Military Commissions Act of 2006, with the President's imprimatur. How many people are in prison in Iraq that have not been adjudicated by a court of law?

Our message with the Act is: welcome to democracy. Torture is now a liberal asset.