Letter: Torture, drones are very different

Regarding the letter that compared waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, two American citizens fighting in support of al-Qaida ["Al-Awlaki: Killing justified?," Oct. 7], there is a difference.

The first involved a prisoner of war. The second two fall under rules of engagement, where they were engaged in active combat against the United States. The Geneva Convention permits killing opposing forces involved in combat; it does not permit torture.

I believe the United States and al-Qaida are involved in a conflict of conscience. The United States believes in the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and it is willing to fight for those values. Al-Qaida believes in its interpretation of Islam. It is a conflict that involves the clash of extremely different values.

As an international community of nations, we should find other means to resolve our conflicts besides war.

Conrad Brown, Freeport