Torture cannot be contained

As the invaluable blog American Torture points out here: http://americantorture.com/, if any part of the government is allowed to torture, it will inevitably spread.
Water torture learned in the Phillipines by U.S. soldiers came back to be used on prisoners in the U.S., mostly in the South. Naturally the most vulnerable suspects will the first to get it, but they won't be the last.
For a similar recent example, look at how Tasers have rapidly mutated from being a weapon of last resort to be used only when the alternative was shooting someone into one of the first tools in the police officer's toolbox as soon as someone is slow to do exactly what the officer wants, even when it's unreasonable.
It's clear that Bin Laden succeeded far beyond his wildest dreams with his terror attacks on 9/11.
Bin Laden already won, folks.
The loss of life and property damage were horrific enough, but he also distorted U.S. policy so much that the America's moral standing has been shot, our economy has been twisted out of shape by the costs of the war, our military hollowed out and rule of law corrupted. Our fundamental rights have been put in danger to an extent never seen because of the way the government has reacted to this threat.
Yep, Bin laden won. With a little luck and a lot of effort we can start recovering from this disaster in 2009.