Does torture deserve defense or apology? Your Say

Demonizing former vice president Dick Cheney does not help support USA TODAY's editorial on the alleged cruelty to terrorists ("To Dick Cheney, the facts just don't matter: Our view").

Our government's actions were not aimed at killing the terrorists. We wanted information that would save the lives of our citizens and others. Dead terrorists cannot save lives. Our actions may have been harsh. Nevertheless, the quest to save lives should not be diminished.

You criticize Cheney's statement that he has no problem with torture as long as we achieve our objective. I am sure that your opinion would change if your offices were located in the World Trade Center towers before 9/11.

Jerry Zerg; Los Angeles

Dick Cheney's appearance on Meet The Press was well documented in USA TODAY and laid open an atrocious crime ("Cheney again defends interrogation techniques").

Cheney ducking questions with stonewalling tactics only shows how wrong George W. Bush and Cheney were about the whole situation.

It seems these two single-handedly rolled back American values by 200 years. Cheney's views on torture and its use reflect a truly scary thought process that simply can't be tolerated anywhere in the civilized world.

Leadership like this should be held accountable for these horrific acts. Maybe then America can begin a healing process, accompanied by a full apology.