I keep seeing people rationalize things we do (such as torture or invading countries that didn't have Al Qeada,) by saying the terrorists do it.... Is that really a good reason to do something? I thought we were supposed to be the good guys, but many people seem to think that since terrorists torture, America should too. Does this mean we should do other things terrorists do, like target civilians, and kill innocents people? where does it start and where does it end? Try to answer without insulting anyone I want to know what people really think.
2007-08-09 04:43:11 · 13 answers · asked by crushinator01 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
No, it's not.
We're supposed to be the guys in the white hats, like in the old westerns. We should always behave honorably, even if our opponents don't.
2007-08-09 04:46:25 · answer #1 · answered by Steve 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hi,
Thanks for your question. My answer is an emphatic 'no'. America has no right to torture detainees at Guantanamo Bay or Abu Graibh. I'll confine myself to two reasons of the many that could be cited.
First, the moral superiority of democracy and the free society is grounded in the assumption that we do not use the methods of authoritarian and rogue regimes.
Second, the kind of junk confessions which prisoners will give when being subjected to 'waterboarding' and other such practices are almost entirely valueless in intelligence terms.
2007-08-09 16:36:13 · answer #2 · answered by Duncan G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I cant agree or disagree with anything that other users have said because I see good points to both.
The one that I lean towards the most...
Our enemy has demonstrated unspeakable acts of beheadings and torture. This of course does not make it right for the US but I do see the point.
If useful information can be gained and it saves lives then yes, I advocate its use. Its arguable if the information is accurate and Ill leave that to the professionals to sort through.
People can comment on its use all day but I would hope that the VAST majority of Americans have no real working knowledge of its effectiveness.
I understand that we are supposed to be "above" the use of torture. If there is an enemy of our people and they have knowledge that could harm our people, then we should extract that information by any means necessary.
2007-08-09 12:10:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no...the problem is the secrecy bc how do we know they are really suspected terrorists? However, is my daughter was kidnapped and being tortured somewhere, and the police found someone who they KNEW was involved and could tell me where she was, I would want to find her using any means necessary...but...the justice system is most certainly not infallible, and torturing an innocent person in hopes of catching terrorists is by no means justifiable. It's a touchy situation, I want to say definitely not, but then I personalize it, and I have a different opinion. Sorry, I guess that wasn't much help.
2007-08-09 11:57:27 · answer #4 · answered by jerseygyrrl 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
... This is a question for the philosophers that won't be answered anytime soon.
If you can save 1000 people by torturing one.. would you?
Are we any better than our enemy if we use torture?
I don't have an answer for you.. just more questions. I think it will be many generations before we find a moral code for this one.
I lean towards you act how you want to be perceived.. and I believe in the long run it does more harm than good...so I don't believe we should. But I'm still thinking.
2007-08-09 11:49:57 · answer #5 · answered by pip 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. You can't win the hearts and minds of anyone if there is torture of the occupied country's citizens by the occupiers, real or perceived.
2007-08-09 11:48:23 · answer #6 · answered by El Duderino 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no it's not OK to torture. Oftentimes, there are news stories which talk about completely innocent people being tortured for information they don't have.
2007-08-09 11:48:34 · answer #7 · answered by Lily Iris 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is why our credibility has been damaged severely by this administration, we were not torturers we were able to penalize those who were. We no longer have that claim to stand behind.
2007-08-09 11:49:51 · answer #8 · answered by World Peace Now 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can torture but you can't say you're a good guy. You can't defend human rights, either..
2007-08-09 12:00:23 · answer #9 · answered by Mysterio 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Britney Spears is torture enough...
2007-08-09 11:46:15 · answer #10 · answered by outcrop 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋