Persuasive Essay On Torture In History

Torturing has been around for ages, from ancient Egypt with their slaves up to this date. Torturing can sometimes be described as interrogation so to disguise the harsh implications that we know as torturing. Even when it is called interrogation it does include some sort of physical and mental infliction and damage. We know torture these days to get information from captives, especially in the war against terrorism. With all the research, I did for this argument in this class I change my belief as against torture where I was for it in the beginning. With the research, I did it just seems as an unreliable tool to extract information from captives because under extreme pain the human mind will say anything to make it stop no matter if it’s

As the country goes through its tenth year of the war on terror one can look back and see some of the policy differences that has plagued this country when, as a nation, our young men are sent to war. Everything, in this author’s view needs to be on the table, and transparent. Of course, troops strength, strategy, and general war plans should be kept from the enemy, the need of informing our own people has been a tight rope that is not easy to balance on for any one person. This was especially true of the “enhanced interrogations” used by the Bush administration at the beginning of the War on Terror. What this paper plans to do is to explain the four greatest

Since the beginning of ancient times, torture has been utilized for gaining information from persons of interest. It “refers to the use of various techniques designed to inflict extreme physical pain, psychological distress, or both” (Torture and Interrogation). Its goal is to strike fear, punish for crimes, or collect significant information. In the past, torture during war spurred the Geneva Conventions, a sequence of treaties that established global laws, prohibiting the act of torture on prisoners of war. Even though these laws forbid the use of torture, some countries still “reserve the right to use torture in

Torture is one of the most provocative topics within modern day government and interrogation practices. While the United States constitution’s eighth amendment states that the use of cruel and unusual punishment is a violation, there have been instances whether you look at the Civil Rights era or post-September 11, 2001. Torture has been unfortunately remained a fairly common practice. This book delves into the perspectives of many authors on their views of torture.

In the United States legal system, torture is currently defined as “an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control.” as defined by Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives (US Code, 1) Though this is a seemingly black and white definition, the conditional “…other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions…” have led many to question what precisely this entails. In other words, what are the lawful sanctions that permit such acts? Are they ethically right? Where is the line drawn as torture

By definition, torture is the act of inflicting serious psychological or physical pain on an individual with an aim of affecting the individual or group, punishing the person for deeds committed, or to acquire information from the person. Torture is usually carried out with the full permission of an individual who works for a public body or a civil servant. In other words, torture can be defined as a severe and systematic violation of the integrity of an individual with extreme social and psychological consequences. Essentially, it is assumed that torture is completely impermissible and is further considered as an ancient practice which outlived its usefulness long time a ago. Societies that consider themselves

In today’s world, there is an overwhelming call for drastic measures in response to issues involving national security and terrorism. For these reasons, acts of torture are often considered a potential and partial resolution to the ideological conflict between western life and extremism in the middle east. This mode of thinking follows the logic that torture is an effective means of gaining vital information for our security. This logic however is flawed and misinformed. All acts of torture are simply unwarranted in that they have no legitimate justification behind them. In fact, the use of torture is perhaps one of the most ineffective and immoral means of gathering intelligence, in that it yields factually undeterminable information, has overwhelming costs and impacts, and is inhumane in its means of execution.

To begin, torture is the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, both physically and mentally on a person for the purposes of gaining a confession, punishment, intimidation, discrimination, to please the torturer or others, to destroy opponents without killing them, or for any other purpose by a public official (Majima, 2012). Torture usually results in both physical and psychological consequences (Mark A. Costazo, 2009). According to the journal article by Mark Costanzo and Ellen Gerrity, “Torture has been used for thousands of years” (Mark A. Costazo, 2009). It is still used today throughout the world (Mark A. Costazo, 2009). Victims of torture are at the mercy of their torturers, requiring that the victim be unable to shield themselves, unable to escape, and unable to fight back (Sussman, 2005). The torturer is someone that can essentially do anything they would like to the victim without any resistance, both legally and physically (Sussman, 2005). The torturer also acts on his/her own behalf or the behalf of an agency based on desires of both the torturer and

These considerations certainly establish a compelling argument for the use of waterboarding as a means to collect important information in a combat environment. There are, however, compelling arguments against the use of any form of torture. One of the more prominent arguments is that it does not provide officials with any actual intelligence. A former FBI interrogator, Ali Soufan, presents a logical argument that waterboarding does not work. He explains that two terrorists, Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were waterboarded 83 and 183 times respectively (Collins, 2014). It is hard to imagine that anything beyond the first few attempts would have truly provided any form of actionable intelligence. At this point in their torture, these two terrorists may only provide false information that may seem important. In their eyes, this would provide the quickest

"All other methods have failed the person you are holding has information of a pending attack on America! You can prevent it only by getting the information your prisoner refuses to reveal torture (advanced interrogation technique) might force him to talk, thereby saving countless lives or offering a suspect something, he wants – whether a cigarette in the beginning or a reduced sentence later – builds rapport. Once the interrogator establishes a bond with the suspect, things become easier. The argument here, is torture right or wrong? This is the dilemma you face” day in and day out when it comes to torturing someone. Who is more important the lawless or the innocent? In today’s society, many people feel that torture is necessary. Over the last decade, torture was necessary however; there still seems to be a divide between it and those who oppose torture in any form under any circumstance because it is inhumane and the information gathered is unreliable.

” Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction”( )Torture is a form of punishment the U.S. government and many governments us around the world. It is an effective tool to get information quickly, but under the Obama administration the United States stopped all use of torture. While many governments still support the use of torture. The United States however, went in a different direction taking torture out of all military personnel. Sighting information can be extracted in a more civilized and humane way. Many citizens of the United States supported the policy, and many did not like the policy. The United States has used torture in the past to find the location of many terrorists that have threatened our home land, and many of those instances lead to more American lives saved. Although torture has saved countless American lives, many of the strategies and forms of punishment are unethical, and unhumanitarian to use on people of this world.

Although there seem to be discussions that there is a distinction between the physical and psychological inhumane, ill-treatment of detainees in the context of torture, I believe the only obvious difference between the two is an artificial one because both are inherent components of torture. The use of “psychological tricks” described in tehe article of Koubi interview like slapping from time to time or cigarette sharing in a holding cell as a lesser or “softer” mistreatment method cannot really produce the results expected by the interrogator to establish control over the detainee, convince the latter that he has power over him leaving him helpless and extracting the necessary information. These “tricks” of psychological manipulation such

Torture is one of the most controversial topics of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The age of terrorism has forced the topic to be introduced to the Legislative Branch. Now that technology is present in every aspect of life the gruesome interrogations of terrorist organizations are privy to the average Joe. Many people believe that torture is both barbaric and uncivilized reserved for third world countries and fragile regimes. These individuals tend to agree that torture is any action or practice of inflicting sever pain on someone in the version of physical or mental abuse with the desire to degrade or humiliate. However, there are individuals who believe that torture is a necessary evil; even though most third world countries

Whether it is after terror attacks, new discoveries about Guantanamo or developments in politics, the discussion around torture continues to resurface.

The battle with terrorism is one of the most controversial arguments, especially when it comes to torturing captured terrorists for information. Torture is a truly morbid and inhumane idea to most, but there are still many people that think otherwise. Some aren’t against the idea of it, and others would even endorse it publicly. “Nearly two thirds of Americans believe torture can be justified to extract information from suspected terrorists.” (Khan, www.reuters.com) This statistic is very similar in Nigeria, where military attacks against civilians is not unheard of.