I have to take exception to John Waugh's position on President Bush's veto of the legislation that would ban waterboarding as an interrogation technique (March 12 letter). It is easy to take the "high road," especially when you are not the one ultimately responsible for the safety and security of everyone in the nation.

I wonder if Mr. Waugh would be willing to gather around him his immediate family and inform them that in the unlikely event he would be responsible for getting information from a person that would keep that very family safe from serious injury or death, they would just have to take their chances with fate. If it were up to me to obtain that information from someone in order to protect my family, or my friends, or even Mr. Waugh's family and friends, waterboarding would be the least of that person's worries.

David Kilpatrick

Pinehurst