In public discussions of Alberto Gonzales and his authorship of the infamous torture memo, we should stick to this logic -- which is the logic of all seasoned military folks:
The Geneva Conventions are not optional. And they do not exist because we want to fight a "sensitive" war and be loving to our enemies.
They exist to protect OUR troops when they are captured. And subverting the Geneva Conventions endangers the safety and security of our own fighting men and women.
Alberto Gonzales, a lawyer wearing a fancy suit and sitting in the White House thousands of miles from the front lines, wrote a legalistic, hair-splitting rationalization of torture. By doing so, he undermined the Geneva Conventions -- and he BETRAYED OUR TROOPS.
Now our men and women on the front lines may be captured and very likely tortured by an enemy that sees that we won't follow our own humanitarian principles. And our troops can thank Alberto Gonzales for selling them out.
Use this in your letters to the editor, and communications with your Senators.