Is it OK for the CIA to torture prisoners ?

Question

CIA and probably MI6 and other military groups are probably torturing prisoners in the war on terror. Is this right ? Does it actually happen or is it just media BS.
Are you happy that your elected leaders agree to torture and rendition flights around the world ?

This is more a debating question. I have my own opinion which I will reveal later.

As has already been said, looking forward to more answers. Keep them coming.

I have judged no one, but ask a question that is all.

Answer 1

Keep in mind that the people we are fighting against are playing by a different set of rules than we do. All they understand is hatred and killing and they are indoctrinated into this lifestyle from childhood. They think nothing of human life; they even try to kill & torture their own people! they will gladly strap a bomb to themselves and lose their own life if they can take a few of us with them. So we don't owe them any "favors" in terms of how they are treated.

In addition, in terms of how our leaders are running the war; I think they need to stop being a total wimp about it! They are like "we got to be carefull where we drop the bombs, we don't want to... um... hurt anybody". Our troops need to go on a total rampage of looting, pilliging, burning, raping, murdering, carrying off the girls as concubines etc. To the point were, when they leave, the destruction is so complete, you could travel from one end of their country to the other and not find 2 bricks or 2 boards still stuck together! This is what war is all about! You want to make them really really afraid of you, so they will never mess with you again, this is the only thing that works!

Answer 2

The first two questions are like asking whether it would be OK for the CIA (or anyone else) to rape or sodomize prisoners?

Of course not! If it was wrong for the Spanish inquisition and the Salem witch trials to use torture, how can it right for the CIA or MI6?

As for whether it actually happened, I'm afraid it is becoming increasingly clear that something of the sort probably has, and may even still be going on in some places as I pen this. There are simply too many accusations out there and too much circumstantial evidence (of which the latest revelation--the deliberate destruction of those CIA tapes--is merely one more nail in the coffin to the notion that what happened at Abu Ghraib was an isolated one-off event perpetrated by a handful of rogue players).

Answer 3

Dont make it sound like we knew about this before it happened. I can't predict the rain like I can't predict someone being splashed in water as a torture tactic.
I really don't think it should happen, but we do it to our own troops lol And to be honest, I would do it to someone, espcially if I had to, as long as it's not life threatening and won't harm or injure someone. I've been tortured but it had nothing to do with this war let me tell you that much lol

I understand that we have Geneva Conventions and other laws that wont allow us to even look at terrorists wrong without us getting punished, it happens and for the most part, those people are caught. But what rules or laws does a 'man' with a mechete follow when he's cutting a man's head off while his hands are tied behind his back as that dying man's family watches it on national television?
Nah, it's alright, we just can't do it, there's no justification but let the whole dam world know it as you smile as another troop from ANY nation in Iraq is bein gutted just like innocent civilians, women and children were in these countries before we went in.
So if I were to lose my sanity and morals to torture a man with some freaking water to save millions of other lives....You're dam f'in right I'll 'torture' that piece of $%^&

It's not just media bullshit about the tapes that were destroyed. A lot of stuff you WILL hear is BS, especially as a foreigner because I see this in a lot of other countries, YOUR elected leaders agree to tell you things that aren't true about USA. Do you think that is right?

Answer 4

circumstances make the decisions, don't they?

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For what it is worth, the CIA apparently waterboarded exactly three prisoners. Is waterboarding torture? Maybe not -- it isn't actually dangerous, or excessively painful, and inflicts no lasting harm. [Apparently scary as xxxx though.]

Nancy Pelosi was the House's Democratic lead on the oversight committee when the incidents occurred. She said nothing and filed no complaints with the administration.

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Meanwhile, prior to his removal from office, Saddam Hussein's apparatus provably used multiple types of physical torture, including electroshock, rape, wounding, and I don't know what else.

Al-Queda has baked children alive to make the point to their parents that their cooperation is required.

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both of the Vietnamese sides used torture in that war.

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Within limits, I'm ok with waterboarding and rendition. After a man or woman demonstrates that they are not willing to observe the rules of civilized society, I say we sentence them to death and then refuse to ask about what happens along the road to their earned death.

Answer 5

Torture is needed to find out info quickly. Do you really believe that other countries that we are fighting really care what the press says about them? They kill reporters for fun. Saw with my own eyes in Somalia in 1993. They would kill the ACLU punk that would tell you that he/she didn't mean to kill 20 Americans or fly aircraft into buildings (9/11)? In order to beat people like this, you have to play on their level. Until you are a soldier in a battlefield, don't knock what we do to make things happen. Our Govt forgot where they come from. They pander all our enemies daily but slam our soldiers for doing their jobs to good. The use of torture will always be used. We, as American, disagree with it because most of us don't know what is like to live in constant battlefield environment. Some of us do. Put yourself in their shoes before judging them.

Answer 6

of course it happens, the enemy will torture us for no good reasons. Thinking that every American is some cousin of Bush. I think the army should have tortured Sadam. You know ask him where are the WMD's. But guess what they didn't. Sadam got more humane treatment from us then most wounded US soldiers. SO what does that really say about why we are torturing? The reason why this torture issue is so touchy because they are not torturing Sadam or real terrorist leaders. They are torturing because of 9/11 and they think every Arab was a conspirator.

Answer 7

umm there's torture EVERYWHERE! the CIA has been doing it for years, i mean how else do they get people to stay quiet? Yes, torture is wrong but there is nothing we can do about it. The fact is this stuff has been going on for years, we are jus payin closer attention to it. Torture is affective, every country uses it, and if they say they dont they're lying.

Answer 8

Morally, I think it is wrong. Strategically, how could we know the info we get is accurate. John McCain has been tortured and he says it is not always good information. And if w torture, we have no business complaining about others who use torture on our soldiers.

Answer 9

Mark, lets say that the information that a certain "suspected" terrorist has may save the life of your only daughter. Do you think that water boarding would be going far enough to get the information to save her?

I'd be offering to carry the buckets.

Answer 10

Hmmmmmm, tough question Mark. But, I think if there is credibility that the person being questioned is a known terrorist, what is of greater value? His "rights", or the lives of a known terrorist operation he has knowledge about. Good debate question though, I would love to hear some more thoughts on this one as well.