On his website, Mr Peter Faris QC says "we are at war with terror and militant Islam in the Middle East. We are at war with Islamic terror in our homeland ... "
A bit Nazi would you say?
... to pull out a fingernail of a terrorist in order to save a couple of million lives was morally right...

From the SMH May 22, 2005

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"Torture acceptable on criminals, says QC

A former chairman of the National Crime Authority has spoken out in favour of torture, saying it should be used against terrorists and in domestic criminal situations.

Peter Faris, QC, today welcomed the debate sparked last week by the head of Deakin University's law school, Mirko Bagaric, who said torture was acceptable in some circumstances.

Mr Faris chaired the national crime body from 1989-1990, has acted as a senior prosecutor and has represented high-profile clients such as alleged underworld figure Carl Williams."

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Gus says bull to that crap about the "morality of torture"
First: even in the days of the inquisition and as admitted by many a modern torturer and the tortured, the process does little to acquire valid or useful information.

Second: torture is NOT MORAL. It is sadistic, expedient, etc, BUT IT AIN'T MORAL.

Third: BY MORALIZING THE VALIDITY OF TORTURE, we validate the purpose of high jacker and place lives, like that of Mr Wood, at more risk. Should Mr Wood be released, it would show that the kidnapers have more honour than the peddlers of the morality of torture... At the moment the kidnapers are as low as these moralistic sadists.

Forth: in most cases with informants, the structure of the whatever "organization" being investigated is built in such a way that information and instructions coming from the top can not be followed from the bottom up. (the Howard and Bush Governments are getting more and more that way, including responsibility of decisions, that can not be attributed to Ministers directives because of the "flow back barriers placing the blame squarely on the underlings and on the arrogant mantra that "we do not goof").

Fifth: 90 per cent of people imprisoned on "terrorist" charge are innocent. Their only "crime" in the present situation is of "being of the wrong colour and of the wrong creed", and being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not a good record. The possibility of "saving millions of people" by torturing someone is a furphy first class.