Since the cases could be prosecuted on the basis of evidence obtained through coercive interrogation, and defendants would be denied access to classified evidence, what weight would the verdicts have in the court of domestic and international opinion?

While evidence obtained by physical abuse is unreliable at best, the proposed legislation will taint the democratic credentials of the United States worldwide. And if Congress passes this legislation, what's to stop other countries making similar changes in their laws to try U.S. military personnel?

The president's proposal followed his admission that dozens of detainees had been held at secret CIA prisons located overseas, where they were interrogated through an "alternative set of procedures", a delicate way of describing harsh and abusive treatment. The administration's intention to effectively continue the program in U.S. facilities and provide legal cover to the CIA's use of coercive interrogation methods is unjustifiable.

U.S. interests would be far best served if it upheld its own judicial and constitutional standards, and respected human rights and international humanitarian law, at home and abroad.