Is Torture A Necessary Evil

Torture is known as the intentional infliction of either physical or psychological harm for the purpose of gaining something – typically information – from the subject for the benefit of the inflictor. Normal human morality would typically argue that this is a wrongful and horrendous act. On the contrary, to deal with the “war on terrorism” torture has begun to work its way towards being an accepted plan of action against terrorism targeting the United States. Terroristic acts perpetrate anger in individuals throughout the United States, so torture has migrated to being considered as a viable form of action through a blind eye. Suspect terrorists arguably have basic human rights and should not be put through such psychologically and physically damaging circumstances.

The United States has been, and may again be, under terrorist threat and attacks or other similar incidents. Torture can be used to prevent these terrible incidents and save the lives of many people. Torture in the United States has been a debatable subject for many years now but after resent tragedies, the idea of torture of many American citizens has changed. It has also been debated over more after the attacks on September 9, 2001 than any other time in American history. Many fight the legalization of torture for moral and civil reasons but the truth is that torture is a lesser evil that can be used for a greater good.

For years after the terrible acts of 9/11 the United States Government used many different tactics to acquire information about Osama bin Laden and the terrorist group known as Al Qaeda, who was involved with them, and what they were planning next. The way the government, the CIA specifically, tried and succeeded in torturing its detainees was astounding and sometimes stomach churning as shown in the movie, Zero Dark Thirty, and it’s no wonder that President Obama reformed the laws and regulations that President George W. Bush installed and allowed the CIA to do. The second item about torture for military use was the reliability of the techniques and how often and how much information was actually acquired from

When is torture justified? According to The Washington Post, almost a margin of 2-1, fifty-nine percent to thirty-one percent of the interviewed, support any brutal methods of torture. We are going to discuss about how torture really keeps our homeland secure. Those people who believe that torture is justified by the United State of America if we hold a detainee and we think it is necessary to do so. Now when we talk about torture to keep our motherland protected, we are talking about the United States Military, United States Government Organizations and Agencies to capture and detain individuals who pose a threat to this nation.

Since -9/11, torture has been official US policy by George Bush at the highest levels of government. On September 17, 2001, George Bush signed a secret finding empowering CIA to "Capture, Kill, or Interrogate Al-Queda Leaders." (Lendman, 2008). It also authorized establishing a secret global facilities to detain and interrogate them without guidelines on proper treatment. In the same time, Bush approved a secret "high-value target list" of about two dozen names. He also gave CIA free reign to capture, kill and interrogate terrorists that were not on the list (Lendman, 2008). What is torture: (a) the intentional infliction of extreme physical pain or suffering on some non-consenting, defenseless person; (b) the intentional, substantial curtailment of the exercise of a person 's autonomy (achieved by means of (a)); (c) in general, undertaken for the purpose of breaking the victim 's will." We will discuss terrorism and torture, look at arguments for and against each practice, and ethically evaluate those arguments (Lendman, 2008)..

People’s imaginations start to go wild when they hear the word torture. However, there are enhanced interrogation techniques that are more humane than others. Waterboarding, for example, simulates the effect of drowning and is highly recommended by people such as former Vice President Dick Cheney (Defrank). It is highly unpleasant, but breaks no bones and leaves no bruises. It also exposes those performing the interrogation to lesser psychological strain than other methods that could be used would. Torture is accused of being a cancer in society, but if regulated and reserved for the “especially” bad guys, societal homeostasis would be maintained.

While the war on terrorism has required different strategies that were not utilized in other wars, the use of torture should not be included as new approach. The Geneva Conventions established protocols that ensured ethical treatment of prisoners because of the atrocities that happened in World War II. That being said, prisoners should be treated with respect, even if they are terrorists. Arthur Holmes (2007) states that, "It is an overall moral principle, all-inclusive and exceptionless, that should govern all of our actions"(p.54). Torture is never

The use of torture has been the subject of debate for centuries. With the growth of terrorism in recent years, the debate has become hotter as people justify torture or forbid it. There is no question, however, that the use of torture on captured criminals has reduced potential attacks on innocent civilians. Idebate.org contests that “With the use of modern technologies by intelligence services and the co-operation and exchanges of information between different intelligence agencies around the world, the likelihood of catching the wrong person has slimmed significantly.” This means that the terrorist in question is almost certainly the culprit. It is reasonable that torture be used on people that have homicidal intentions. Torture is necessary in today’s society due to the increase of violence because terrorists disregard the law, the time-ticking bomb scenario, and the fact that torture can deter other potential terrorists.

For years, Americans have used torture as a way of punishing those who have committed heinous crimes against others, specifically prisoners of war. Recently, controversy has risen over the debate as to whether or not it is inhumane and unconstitutional to use torture as a type of punishment. Throughout Bush’s time in office, it was made clear that him and his administration believed that interrogation was the easiest way to unveil the truth of a situation from a prisoner of war. In contrast, President Obama believes that the use of drones to kill these prisoners is the more beneficial approach, considering what they do does not constitute them to live another day on this earth. In reality, that is not the most feasible approach for anyone, as our government is left without obtaining the information they need from that person, putting our country in great danger (Monroe). In working to support President Bush’s idea that torture is essential

Torture isn't necessarily unconstitutional, but it does bar cruel and unusual punishment. The United States Constitution says nothing about torture, but does that make it right? People view torture as more an appealing way to punish the victim helping the ethos of the viewer but doesn’t appeal to reason or effectiveness. Torture is wrong and is no longer should be looked at as a way as interrogation.

When we torture enemy combatants in Afghanistan or Iraq it is inhumane and the enemy is also a living human being. The reason we torture is because they have information we want that the enemy is not willing to give. So we force it out of them and that information could save lives. Torture could potentially kill a person and if you torture that person nonstop you could kill him/her.

The US government throughout the years has conducted many convert operations around the world. These operations have produced actionable intelligence in regards to defeating our enemies abroad. These intelligence operations have been very controversial. People have raised the legality of these operations on whether USA or other western countries should be allowed to conduct these operations. One major issue these intelligence operations have faced is the prospect of torture. During the years of the Bush presidency the US government was infamous for the use of torture. The CIA and the Bush White House drafted up the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques. These were infamous in the brutality in which US personal treated prisoners. One of the most

Our thinking should not just be on fighting other countries to try and rid ourselves of violations and torture of our rights, but to remember that this is happening right in our own backyards. As the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter, put it: Demonstration of American resiliency will show the terrorists that they will not succeed (Leiter, 2014). America is undeniably an amazing example of fairness and democracy, but it’s people’s rights are at risk at all times. Never should it be thought of as acceptable to chance who may be a terrorist, suffering is unnecessarily for those that are not deserving of it. Being sent to prison for an unimaginable amount of time without help from lawyers or other’s help is

In this article, Andrew Sullivan, is an advocate for the abolition of torture against terrorist in the United States. During the time that this article was written, the McCain Amendment (which banned torture) was on a political limbo. What this author talks mostly about is the choice that we have to make things right, therefore ban the use of torture against terrorist. This debate takes place after Bush administration defined "torture" and permitted coercive, physical abuse of enemy combatants if "military necessity" demands it. Also after several reports found severe abuse of detainees in Afghanistan and elsewhere that has led to at least two dozen deaths during interrogation, secret torture sites in Eastern Europe and innocent detainees being murdered.

After the events of September 11, 2001, the United States had a unique dilemma. America was engaged in what would be called a “War on Terror”. This new conflict was unlike any in American history. Previously, in the context of war the United States had always fought a nation or group that had defined boundaries as to where they resided. This new conflict went away from these rules of the past. Terrorist groups were not bound to a region, but were instead united by an ideal. September 11 marked the first time in which terrorism would rise to the forefront of the nation’s agenda. This emergent wave of conflict required a different strategy than the those of the past because of the unorthodox nature of the opponent. One of the major innovations fostered by the “War on Terror” was the expansion of torture. The dramatic rise in terrorism sparked the unethical advancement of interrogation techniques in order to more effectively acquire information. The emergence of the “War on Terror” required government officials acquire intelligence in a new way thus spawning the emergence of “enhanced interrogation” methods, however, the morality of these techniques would come into question as they were revealed to the public.