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Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
With the current state of the world and the ongoing War on Terror, the topic of torture has been appearing everywhere. Is it right? Are there any exceptions? Should the ones guilty of committing these actions be held responsibly? All these are questions people have been asking and debating particularly after 9/11. The most debated question however is the one for exceptions. For the most part people in the United States believe that torture is wrong. It is against US Law to torture any captive or detainee within US boundaries. However, what are we to do if national security is at risk of an imminent attack and we have a criminal in custody that has vital information to stop it from happening. For the most part these people are probably not going to rat out everything if asked nicely; this being the problem as to what to do.
Each side of this debate represents themselves with “moral” beliefs and “responsible” actions for protecting society. These sides are also represented by first hand experiences, world peace advocates, and government officials who all add a more complicated argument to the table. In this blog I will be representing both side of this issue and let the reader decide what is right and what is wrong.
As stated above, I gave the United States definition of “torture” and described the significance of Guantanamo Bay, however there are more words related to this topic which I feel should be defined in order to grasp a better understanding when reading about it. One that seems to come up a lot during discussion is “waterboarding”, which consists of immobilizing a person on a downward incline and placing a rag over their face and pouring water so that they feel like they are drowning and causes them to believe that they are about to die. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri are terrorist in which the CIA has released information stating that waterboarding was used on these individuals in order to obtain information. Another common term found is the “time ticking bomb scenario”, which is the scenario that a bomb is about to go off in a major city causing thousands of casualties and we have the terrorist who created the plot in custody. This is the “justified” scenario where torture is viewed as okay by one side in order to save thousands of lives.
The term “enemy combatant” is also present among this debate and it severs as the definition of these terrorists whom we are fighting. The reason we call them “enemy combatants” is because they are not fighting for a country in this war, but rather for an organization whose main goal is loss of innocent lives. They are not considered Prisoners of War because they are non-uniformed and pass through the lines for the purpose to wage war by destruction of life or property. The two most prevalent terrorist organizations are those in al Qaeda and the Taliban.
“SPIEGEL: The US government feels it is legitimate to hold prisoners under water until they believe they are drowning. Is this acceptable to you?
MERKEL: There was a similar debate in Germany over the 2002
kidnapping of Jakob von Metzler, the banker's son. The issue then was whether it is legitimate to threaten or use torture to save the life of a child. The public debate showed that the overwhelming majority of citizens believed that even in such a case, the end does not justify the means. That is also my position.”
So what are we to do? Do we let guilty criminals stay in prison until they eventually die giving us no information? Or do we persuade them to talk with more “forceful techniques?”
As for some of the meta-problems one question that has also come up is what is torture vs. “enhanced interrogational techniques?” For one, these “E.I.T” do not use lethal force. It does not consist of cutting off fingers or mangling the body in any way. The techniques mainly focus on intimidation and feeling as if they are about to die, when in reality they are far from it. President Obama stated clearly in his inaugural address that, “The United States does not torture.” So are these techniques considered torture? As every leader knows they will be faced with many tough decisions and with this debate having no real conclusion, it is ultimately up to the discretion of our President to determine what is right and what is wrong. Who knows, President Obama may be challenged with the decision where “enhanced interrogational techniques” may be the only option. But I’m just adding more fuel to the fire so that every side of this debate is represented.
Slackman, Michael. (Spring, 2004). What's Wrong With Torturing a Qaeda Higher-Up?. New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/weekinreview/16slac.html?ex=1400040000&en=d016acfc4bf57bbf&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
Stephens, Maura. (Fall 2005). Why Torture is OK. Retrieved on March 29, 2009 from http://www.shalomctr.org/torture-OK
Schmitt , Eric. (Fall 2005). Exception Sought in Detainee Abuse Ban . Retrieved on March 19, 2009 from http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10766.htm
Ramsey, Mike. (Fall 2007). Torture not allowed from anyone, bill should restrain CIA actions. Retrieved on March 12, 2009 from http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2005/11/torture_not_allowed_from
Browne, Harry. (Winter 2005). Should the US Military be Allowed To Torture People? Retrieved on March 25, 2009 from http://www.lewrockwell.com/browne/browne20.html
For The Use of Torture
Minchin, Liz. (Spring 2005). Make torture legal, say two academics. Retrieved on March 30, 2009 from http://www.theage.com.au/news/War-on-Terror/Make-torture-legal/2005/05/16/1116095906016.html
Unknown Author. (Spring 2005). Torture acceptable, says former NCA chief. Retrieved on March 29, 2009 from http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Torture-acceptable-says-former-NCA-chief/2005/05/22/1116700585264.html
Loven, Jennifer. (Fall 2007). Bush Says Torture is Good. Retrieved on March 24, 2009 from http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/3498
Barber, La Shawn. (Fall 2005). Torture is Good. Retrieved on March 26, 2009 from http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2005/11/22/tortureisgood/
Palmer, Alasdair. (Winter 2009). The use of torture will test Barack Obama's idealism. Retrieved on March 11, 2009 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/4550138/The-use-of-torture-will-test-Barack-Obamas-idealism.html