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Army Specialist Bradley Manning deserves a medal, not prison.

Solitary confinement is too terrible a punishment to inflict on any human being, no matter what his crime. Hardened criminals in the men's prisons, it is said, often beg for the lash instead.

Torture is illegal, both in the U.S. and abroad. So - and that is true for the Bush administration and for any other administration.

I'm very interested in soldier recovery projects and in Bradley Manning's story, the army intelligence officer who's being held as a detainee and is going to trial for crimes of treason.

Torture is an impermissible evil. Except under two circumstances. The first is the ticking time bomb. An innocent's life is at stake. The bad guy you have captured possesses information that could save this life. He refuses to divulge. In such a case, the choice is easy.

Regrettably, it has become clear that torture of detainees in United States custody is not limited to Abu Ghraib or even Iraq. Since Abu Ghraib, there have been increasing reports of torture.

No one has ever escaped from Guantanamo Bay. It is by far the most secure detention facility in the world.

This is not to condone torture, which is still prohibited by the Torture Convention and federal criminal law.

How many persons condemned to the horrors of solitary confinement have gone mad - simply because the thinking faculties have lain dormant!

One of the techniques terrorists employ is to allege torture and mistreatment when they are captured, regardless of whether it is true.