Any carve-out that would allow any agency of government to engage in torture would be legitimizing the use of torture.

We've sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists.

You cannot remove the military option from the table, but it is a totally undesirable option and one that can only be considered after all other options are attempted.

Apparently, the hard facts of war need not inconvenience the Senate at this time. And the solemn duties that war imposes on us can be postponed indefinitely.

But I do not believe that the Bush administration decided that they would set up a scenario that gave us the rationale for going into Iraq.

I hope and pray we can avert this crisis. I hope I'm wrong, but there's nothing in Saddam's record to indicate that he's going to keep any commitments.

I think we should know what it is that caused this and how it happened. But I think we should all be aware, particularly the news media, of how volatile the situation is in some parts of the Middle East.

The whole situation is just very, very different.

I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics, I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Please be assured I won't make the same mistake again.