Much more than a leak.

Byline: The Register-Guard

It says much about the declining state of human rights in this country that Republican leaders in Congress are more concerned about tracking the leak of information regarding a network of secret CIA detention centers than demanding answers about these shadow prisons and what's happening inside them.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has even gone so far as to declare that he believes the leak poses a greater threat to national security than any illegal activities that might be occurring in the prisons themselves. Frist says he is "not concerned about what goes on behind the prison walls."

For the sake of argument, let's start by agreeing with Frist that the leak to The Washington Post, which published a Nov. 2 story revealing the existence of the secret CIA network, poses a serious national security risk. The House Intelligence Committee already has agreed to investigate how that information was leaked. If a criminal investigation is warranted, it seems likely the Justice Department will not be reluctant to pursue the matter.

With that base covered, Frist and company should explain to the American people why it's unimportant to find out how these secret prisons were created - and at whose direction. When did our national conscience become so benumbed that congressional leaders are indifferent to the existence of a taxpayer-funded secret prison system overseas? When did Congress decide not to ask questions about these black holes for prisoners who have not been charged with crimes, who have not seen lawyers or appeared before judges - and whose very existence is not even acknowledged by their captors?

Frist seems to have forgotten that the United States is a signatory to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He could also use a refresher course on U.S. law, which forbids holding prisoners in secret in this country - although that explains why the CIA's prisons are located abroad.

Given reports of extensive abuse and torture of U.S. detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Bush administration's revealing efforts to block anti-torture legislation in Congress, lawmakers should demand answers about this sinister prison system and what's happening inside it. How many prisoners are being held? Who are they? How are they being treated? Will they ever be released or charged with crimes, or will they die in custody? How many have died already? Why is the United States "renditioning" these prisoners to the custody of other countries that practice torture? More importantly, why is a country that once rightly regarded itself as a beacon of hope and human rights engaging in such appalling - and ultimately self-de- structive - activities?

It was only a few months ago that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was denounced for calling the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "the gulag of our times." Durbin eventually apologized. It remains to be seen exactly how far he was from the truth.