Do you think torture is a legitament tool for gathering information and?

Question

If so how does this make us any different than Saudi Arabia or Egypt? Growing up I always felt like the good guys were above stooping down to the tactics of the dregs....what do you think?

I don't think John McCain P.O.W. is limp wristed. How many people realize that torture is in fact a departure from generally heald beliefs this country used to have- not to mention the rule of law?

Answer 1

No, torture is not the answer. Most of the people being tortured, from what I've observed, are either innocent or really, really bad. If they're innocent, they're gonna lie to get the pain to stop. If they're really, really bad, they don't care and will lie because, for all we know, it's the truth. Why give away their plans? They're going to die anyway.

I grew up with the idea of G.I. Joe being good and doing what was right. Sometimes they thought about doing something wrong, and his buddies always stopped him. Now innocent people, who America is supposed to be helping, are being tortured and held with no lawyer because someone said there was a possibility that person was 'involved in activities'. Well, if you count jaywalking and thinking about running a red light, most of us U.S. citizens are terrorists. Do you want to be waterboarded because you were trying to get to school on time?

Answer 2

It is a legitimate tool in certain extreme circumstances...where critical information is needed...and needed fast...to prevent the loss of lives. From everything I have heard of governments like the Saudis, Egypt, and let us not forget the former government of Iraq, torture was used indiscriminately as a form of punishment and intimidation.

That's why it makes us different.

Edit: Regarding giving false information to stop the torture. That used to be a valid criticism of torture, but not anymore. The interrogators have much better access to information sources to validate the information. For instance, McCain said he used names of sports figures when interrogated while a POW. Today, a prisoner trying that would quickly be found out by a simple "google" of the names.

Answer 3

Torture does work to a certain degree, but it also generates false information, since the victim will tell you what he thinks you want to hear, rather than the truth. Physical torture is rarely the best method of obtaining information. Psychological techniques and drugs work better.

The Romans used torture, but one of the rights of a citizen was not to be tortured. This is why St. Peter was tortured and cruxified and St Paul was quickly beheaded, for the same offense.

The Geneva convention outlaws torture. Of course it does not apply to insurgents, who are not sovereign nations or signators. The UN declaration of Human Rights outlaws torture, so I do not believe Americans should participate in it.

I think that unless a group can be shown to have tortured citizens, they should be free from torture. I think you can have a tacit agreement to that effect even with terrorists (Italian Red Brigades killed, but did not toruture hostages). As far as those groups which practice torture on hostages, the gloves are off. This are the principles of reciprocity and deterrence.

Answer 4

This has been debated for many years.

When I was in the military there were two "private" camps and one public camp. The guys would tell you over a beer that sometimes the only way to get instant information was to hurt someone as soon as you got your hands on them and then you killed them. There were other guys who claimed the information was questionable and you couldn't make decisions based on it.

Both would say the same thing in public, torture does not work.

I believe this goes to individual values and circumstances and that both parties are correct.

Sometimes you can get good information and sometimes you won't. Sometimes the methods are mild and sometimes they are pretty nasty.

I guess a good example would be the way cops arrest people and put cuffs on them. When filmed you can't tell the difference between a cop deliberately hurting a suspect and a cop just doing their job. Is the prep pretending pain for the camera or are they in pain? If you know the motions you can inflict pain during an arrest and cuffing, or not.

It depends on the individuals involved.

Answer 5

I do. Think about it in a personal level. If somebody kidnapped your son or daughter and he had been missing for days. Would you rather want a one on one with the person or call the police and the persons lawyer. In my opinion anything to save the American way of life. Remember the movie A few good men, Jack Nicholson's character " you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall". I just think somethings are kept confidential.

Answer 6

I think it shows the hypocrisy of America, on the one hand they want to present itself as a Christian nation, and on the otherhand they want to engage in the brutal treatment of prisoners by torture.

Torture does not work, the Romans brutally tortured Yeshua the Christ, the Black Hebrew from the House of David, but it did not work, because he fulfilled his purpose.

Answer 7

If torture is politically correct, then the Lord Jesus was treated very politically, and since it is no longer torture but "pressure" then I suppose Jesus was not tortured but intently pressured. The masses in those days reveled at his pressure and thought Crucifixion was a good thing.

Answer 8

What!? Torture cannont be condoned, it is against human rights.

What kind of world do you want to live in?

There are other means of gathering information rather than intently and deliberatly inflicting suffering upon another human being. Lets use those before we stoop to becoming monsters.

Answer 9

Of course it's legitimate when done correctly

Does this make us any .different than Saudi Arabia or Egypt?

We don't "torture" like they do. Waterboarding? Big deal. So the person FEELS like they are drowning. OOOOHHHH. We don't chop off heads. We put a dog near a Muslim? OOOOHHH. We humiliate them by making them get naked? You've got to be kidding me. We've become such a feminized, limp-wristed country of liberals it's sickening.

Answer 10

No , do we want other countries to torture Americans? How about intelligence gathering and working with other agencies to ensure that it is correct information? Like we USED to.