Do What -- the Lambada?

I didn’t expect to see Dick Cheney do this:

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said the use of harsh interrogation techniques on terror suspects produced results and that the American people should see the proof.

In an interview with Fox News, aired Monday night, Cheney said he is not allowed to talk about the still-classified information but that the public deserves to find out “how good the intelligence was.”

Cheney called for the release of additional memos, saying that would make for what he calls an “honest debate.”

One of the reasons I’m generally opposed to torture is that it does sometimes work — and the implications of that are just too much to contemplate. I’d also dread what would become of our people engaged in it, and us as a people if we came to support its widespread use.

That said, if there’s a ticking time bomb scenario — OK, fine, if that one-in-a-lifetime opportunity presents itself, knock yourselves out. But don’t make it legal. The only time we should even contemplate torture is the one time no prosecutor would file charges and no jury would convict.

In the meantime, maybe Cheney is right; open the files and let’s have the debate.