If they had been humane, they would have treated her.
But Justice Department officials said that the forced feeding of the detainee, Mohammed Bawazir, had been humane and that Mr. Bawazir had mostly fabricated any discomfort he suffered.
Given this level of secrecy, the public and all but a few members of Congress who have been sworn to silence have had to take on faith President Bush's assurances that the C.I.A.'s internment program has been humane and legal, and has yielded crucial intelligence.
"For five years the state has tried to kill me," he said, claiming that his isolation was "torture" and that it would have been more humane to just shoot him, though his judgment on how humane it is to shoot people is partial, to say the least.
It certainly would have been more humane.
Some people said that it would have been more humane to do what they've done in Juárez, across the border — just build an incinerator next to the track.
"It would have been really humane" for the authorities to keep the son and father together in real life for more than a day or two, he said, and yet he was criticized for doing so for dramatic purposes.
The Vermont ice cream maker Ben and Jerry's got plenty of attention last September when it became the first major food manufacturer to announce it would use only cage-free eggs that have been certified humane by an inspecting organization.
There were opportunities in the case of the latter to enter into a meaningful dialogue to create understanding, while the former, who also spoke of the decent US soldiers he met, could have been given humane treatment, instead of yet another excuse to hate America.
Mexican authorities also have been more humane to asylum applicants, releasing them from detention while their cases are processed.
