This is in response to the article "Bush breaks silence to back book" published Nov. 7. In his memoir, "Decision Points," former President George W. Bush demonstrates his failure to adhere to any Christian ethical maxims when he claims he responded with "Damn right" when asked if the CIA should torture Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by waterboarding him. This defense of torture is a sad departure from a moral truth, enshrined in all faiths, that torture is always wrong.

Every military study demonstrates that torture does not make us safer; it inspires extremists and torture victims to provide false information.

Torture does not make us safer; it makes us a target and is against the law. Our nation ratified the Convention against Torture, which prohibits torture.

President Bush admitted authorizing waterboarding, a technique that violates U.S. morals and laws. There is consequently a question before Americans: Should we as a nation hold accountable those who violated U.S. law and our most fundamental moral standards?

I join with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture to call for a comprehensive investigation of our nation's use of torture. Only then can we understand how to prevent it from happening in the future.

Editor's note: The writer is president of New London Grassroots Homeless Coalition Ministries, Inc.