Torture
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===Effectiveness=== | ===Effectiveness=== | ||
An example of the unreliability of torture can, surprisingly, be gleaned from the [[Larry Craig]] affair. Apparently just the thought of the damage to his reputation and position in society made him plead guilty to a [[sex]]-related disorderly conduct charge, even though he now claims he was not guilty. Imagine what he would wrongly plead guilty to if torture, rather than shame, were in the offing? And this man was a tough [[conservative]], not a [[liberal|librul]] weakling. | An example of the unreliability of torture can, surprisingly, be gleaned from the [[Larry Craig]] affair. Apparently just the thought of the damage to his reputation and position in society made him plead guilty to a [[sex]]-related disorderly conduct charge, even though he now claims he was not guilty. Imagine what he would wrongly plead guilty to if torture, rather than shame, were in the offing? And this man was a tough [[conservative]], not a [[liberal|librul]] weakling. | ||
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| + | The military (And formerly, the CIA) claimed that torture is a worthless tactic, as the victim will admit anything to stop the torture. For gathering useful intelligence, gaining trust, bribery or undercover operations are far more useful tactics, and don't result in the physical or mental destruction of anyone. There's also the long foregone tactic of negotiation, which is remarkably effective. Terrorists do not wake up one morning and think "I should bomb something!", that attitude is a response to some grievance, real or perceived. If this grievance is listened to and steps are taken to eliminate or alleviate it, the terrorists have no manipulative power and evaporate quickly. | ||
===Guantanamo=== | ===Guantanamo=== | ||
Revision as of 02:43, 19 August 2010
Torture is the act of causing physical or mental anguish, pain and/or harm, sometimes in order to achieve a specific result, such as obtaining information ("enhanced questioning" of the politically correct), or sometimes as revenge or to satisfy the sadistic nature of the torturer.
In spite of a long history of use by governments, religions and individuals, research has shown that information obtained by torture is notoriously unreliable.[1][2] In fact, torture is unreliable for two reasons:
- Under torture a person may say whatever the torturer wants to hear. He may incriminate innocent people or confess to crimes he knows nothing about.
- A person under torture has no real interest in helping the torturer - he is not a willing ally. Assuming that he has not been coerced into simply saying whatever his interrogator wants to hear then his information is likely to be ambiguous, dangerous or simply wrong.
Contents |
Current events
Although outlawed by most countries, torture is still practiced by some, particularly dictatorships and other tyrannical or authoritarian governments. The United States has a prohibition against it, but recently circumvented this by outsourcing its torture to private contractors, ensuring that no-one was actually tortured on U.S. soil, and, as a last resort, redefining the Geneva Conventions to suit. Ain't obeying the law grand?[3]
Effectiveness
An example of the unreliability of torture can, surprisingly, be gleaned from the Larry Craig affair. Apparently just the thought of the damage to his reputation and position in society made him plead guilty to a sex-related disorderly conduct charge, even though he now claims he was not guilty. Imagine what he would wrongly plead guilty to if torture, rather than shame, were in the offing? And this man was a tough conservative, not a librul weakling.
The military (And formerly, the CIA) claimed that torture is a worthless tactic, as the victim will admit anything to stop the torture. For gathering useful intelligence, gaining trust, bribery or undercover operations are far more useful tactics, and don't result in the physical or mental destruction of anyone. There's also the long foregone tactic of negotiation, which is remarkably effective. Terrorists do not wake up one morning and think "I should bomb something!", that attitude is a response to some grievance, real or perceived. If this grievance is listened to and steps are taken to eliminate or alleviate it, the terrorists have no manipulative power and evaporate quickly.
Guantanamo
It has been admitted the US military engaged in torture, including waterboarding, at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (In fact, many of the methods later used at Abu Ghraib apparently came from Guantanamo.)
Karl Rove, also known as "Bush's brain", said he "was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists". [4]
Extraordinary rendition
- See main article Extraordinary rendition.
Extraordinary rendition is when the United States, determined to break someone without dirtying its own hands, sends a suspect to a state that engages in the worst kind of torture. For example, despite all the heated rhetoric the US promulgates about Syria, some of the people the US has captured have been sent there to be tortured.
Ashcroft-Gonzalez hospital incident
When then-Attorney General John Ashcroft was in the hospital (and under sedation), his deputy found that many of the programs of the Bush administration (possibly including torture) were illegal. Alberto Gonzalez, then White House counsel, went to visit Ashcroft in the hospital to try to get him to sign off on the programs. Ashcroft refused, rightfully understanding that he was in no position to sign off on anything, and told Gonzalez to talk to his deputy, who was currently the acting Attorney General. Then, after getting out of the hospital, Ashcroft signed off anyway.
World public rejects torture
A June 2008 international survey of public attitudes to torture is rather depressing for liberal Americans: only 53% think that "All torture should be prohibited". This contrasts with the UK Where the figure is 82%.
The US falls below states like Ukraine, Poland and Egypt and 13% "think "Torture should generally be allowed". [5]
History
An historical aside: In ancient Greece and Rome, and possibly elsewhere, the testimony of a slave could only be accepted by an official tribunal or court after the slave had been tortured. Surprisingly, Greece and Rome were considered at the time to be civilized countries. Of course, pretty much all and every society through out history has considered its self to be the most advanced civilization ever, and you didn't want to be a nubile boy in either Greece or Rome at that time, so . .........
Footnotes
- ↑ http://hrw.org/press/2001/11/TortureQandA.htm
- ↑ http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18424746.000-does-torture-work.html
- ↑ However, there is increasing evidence that the US, in many cases, directly engaged in torture. They just made sure to do it in gray areas, like Guantanamo.
- ↑ BBC : Rove interview
- ↑ Source of poll data