"In a democracy that espouses certain moral values, we need to have accountability," says ethicist Shaun Casey. "It prepares us morally to face the future when we're facing a crisis and pressure to abandon legal and moral precedents that we've observed."

The recent release of four Bush administration memos on US interrogation techniques has intensified public debate about the use of torture. Two ethicists discuss torture and its moral limits in an age of terror.