Post by: Chirusha de Mel
April 23, 2017
Would the use of Torture
in U.S. War on Terror Be Considered as Terrorism?
Over the past
several years many individuals have spoken about the failure and the ineffectiveness
on the U.S. War on Terror. Surrounding the War on Terror the tactics which were
used in order to defeat terrorism infringed upon human rights. After the September 11th attacks,
the use of torture became a debatable global issue on whether it is justifiable
on suspected terrorists. The term torture became an ambiguous definition, while
turning the blind eye when it is convenient. Most Americans believe that the
form of torture helps extract information from suspected terrorists in order to
save millions of lives. However, I believe that the U.S. War on Terror used terroristic
tactics which were/are morally wrong, impractical, and ineffective. Therefore,
the torture used in the U.S. War on Terror should be viewed as terrorism.
Experts have said
when people are tortured, the information is often falsified, usually the
person undergoing torture does not have an ultimate goal in order to supply
information. According to the Senate
Report on CIA Torture the report studies shows time and time again that the use
of torture was not effective in gaining useful information. The most useful information was found when
non-CIA agencies asked detainees with non-coercive techniques. The CIA Report
indicates that,
“Hassan Ghul provided extensive information
on Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda
operatives when questioned without coercive techniques by the CIA and did not provide more information after he was subjected to
torture and cruel treatment. Others, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, provided false information after interrogation.
After the program had ended, CIA Director John Brennan admitted, “We have not concluded that it was the use of EITs
within that program that allowed us to obtain useful information from detainees
subjected to them,” saying that whether "enhanced
interrogation" was effective is “unknowable (Torture Was
Ineffective).”
Using torture as a tactic to gain useful information for the national security could be considered as an option in specific circumstances. On the other hand, it is important to note that it will have an impact on the creditability of the U.S. in their promotion of law and order and human rights around the world. In addition, according to Terrorism and Civil Liberty, Michael Ignatieff argues, “may be that it is at times motivated not so much by a desire to extract vital information but by something baser, such as an urge to inflict pain, exact revenge, or even just for fun. That seems to have been part of the motivation of the Americans who abused prisoners in Abu Ghraib (Is Torture Ever Justified)”
Using torture as a tactic to gain useful information for the national security could be considered as an option in specific circumstances. On the other hand, it is important to note that it will have an impact on the creditability of the U.S. in their promotion of law and order and human rights around the world. In addition, according to Terrorism and Civil Liberty, Michael Ignatieff argues, “may be that it is at times motivated not so much by a desire to extract vital information but by something baser, such as an urge to inflict pain, exact revenge, or even just for fun. That seems to have been part of the motivation of the Americans who abused prisoners in Abu Ghraib (Is Torture Ever Justified)”
The danger of torturing suspected terrorists
would be that American victims who are in the hands of other hostile countries could
justify torturing Americans. It would be a moral dilemma to justify the actions
of USA in torturing suspected terrorists while condemning other countries for
committing the same acts.
Many Americans do not understand what it would be
like for other hostile nations to take our people and use torture as a tactic
in order to gain information. I understand that people see torture as
reasonable because of the potential lives that can be saved. Evidently, however
these tactics are ineffective and are simply inhumane. The U.S. War Terror
should be conducted without using illegal and terroristic methods.
Work Cited
"Is
Torture Ever Justified?" The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 22
Sept. 2007. Web. 23 Apr. 2017
"Torture
Was Ineffective." Human Rights First. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
I think that torture of terror suspects on suspected information does have its limitations certainly. The only way I can even justify the use of torture is if the agency doing the torture knows for 100% that they have the individual in custody who is planning on killing innocent civilians and they have some information saying that individual has planted a bomb and only they know where it is. Other than that I feel that torture is highly unreliable and not humane to do. Especially when coercive techniques have proved so successful.
ReplyDelete-Christopher Bouchard
I completely agree with you that the use of torture to attain information from suspects is immoral and is terrorism if the agency is not on hundred percent sure that the suspect in custody is indeed guilty. although the US justifies torture as a matter of national security I believe that since it has been proven that there are more human ways of getting information, we should use those instead of torturing people.
ReplyDeleteDivine Mugunga
I agree with everything that you have outlined in your post. I think the part that stuck out to me the most was when you stated that " it is important to note that it will have an impact on the creditability of the U.S. in their promotion of law and order and human rights around the world". I think that this was a part of torture that I had never really given thought to. We often hear, or think, that torture is not effective or that is morally wrong but I do not think we often apply it to the U.S. image and credibility. How do we get countries to cooperate with us when the people fear that we will torture them?
ReplyDeleteThe use of torture is definitely a touchy subject to discuss. I feel that torture is wrong if it is not proven to be an effective tactic. If it is effective however, I feel that it is a tactic that should be used to help find information. As long as there is a reason for why we are torturing a terrorist and it proves effective then I see no problem with it. These elements though are not always clear to see which you had pointed out. This is certainly a tactic that I would trust in our military to make the right decision. We are not the ones over in the middle east fighting for our country.
ReplyDelete- Stephen