Moral Clarity

This week, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld gave a speech inwhich he insisted that critics of the Iraq War did not understand the terrorist threat and were like British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin, who wanted to appease Nazi German. Mr. Rumsfeld went on to say that many Americans are "morally confused" about who is right and who is wrong.

Rummy has a point. People are morally confused.

So let me clarify a few rights and wrongs of the kind you learn in second grade.

It is wrong to invade a country that poses you no threat. It is wrong to imprison men without due process and without charging them with any crime. It is wrong to torture people. It is wrong to impose your form of government on a people who have no desire for it. It is wrong to tap people's phone lines without a warrant. It is wrong to scare people into accepting your rule. It is wrong to attack your opponents patriotism or morality. It is wrong to let other people die for your mistake and it is wrong to use the misdeeds of others as an excuse for your own misdeeds.