(U-WIRE) FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Iraq’s prime minister said that 173 Iraqi detainees were found at an Interior Ministry basement lockup seized by U.S. forces in Baghdad. There is also talk that these prisoners were malnourished and possibly subjected to torture.

A State Department spokesman in the United States said, “We don’t practice torture, and we don’t believe other states should practice torture. We think that there should be an investigation and those who are responsible should be held accountable,” according to the Associated Press.

Even though the abuse administered at this site was from the Shiite-controlled Interior Ministry, it is troublesome in the wake of comments made by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney condoning, and even encouraging, torture practices.

The United States should be a shining example of democracy and justice if our forefathers’ rules are followed. If the U.S. government can’t practice and uphold its ideals of justice – fair and speedy trials, innocent until proven guilty, etc. – overseas, how can we expect to be trusted and imitated by the rest of the world?

Our leaders should uphold even higher morals than the citizens of our country.

Prisoners of war are still human. Even in prison, their basic needs should be met in adequate food, shelter and clothing. They should not be subjected to torture. Building rapport and trust could be much more effective than torture anyway.

By torturing individuals, we become the police states and communist countries that we have gone to war against.

Staff Editorial

Rocky Mountain Collegian (Colorado State U.)