Second Geneva Convention Essay

“The one lesson we 've learned from history is that we have not learned any of history 's lessons” (Unknown Author, n.d.). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs) such as “waterboarding” and extraordinary rendition (aka “black sites”) by CIA agents for American intelligence interests and to analyze the drastically apposing views of the legalities, morality, and effectiveness of these methods. Is the CIA’s use of EITs and extraordinary rendition equivalent to torture, and therefore, acts in violation of international law? The definition of “torture” under statute 18 U.S.C. 2340 states, “torture” means 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” (United States Code, 2011). This definition expands with specific identifying characteristics of an act and varies to include humiliation of an individual. Of course, pain and suffering is a subjective experience. The worlds historical practice of “torture” reinforces lessons that human’s imaginative capacity for inflicting pain and terror on our fellow human is disgracefully boundless; yet, parallel behaviors of violence and humiliation reemerge with disturbing regularity (Smith, 2013).

The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution says, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The fundamental idea of torture is to inflict mental or physical pain onto a suspect to coerce them into revealing information we desire. This tactic is illegal because it violates the Constitution, and in addition, it violates international agreements that our nation has committed itself to. The general provisions of the Geneva Conference of 1949 prevent the use of torture in warfare; the document specifically outlaws “Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating or degrading treatment…” By violating these laws, particularly the Constitution, our nation

Allegedly, the outsourcing of terror suspects to countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Syria, countries that engage in torture, also occurred. In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported on methods of physical and psychological coercion used to extract information from prisoners in Iraq. These methods include beatings with hard objects, slapping, punching, kicking, prolonged exposure to the sun, and parading detainees naked, sometimes with women’s underwear on their heads. In some cases, threats were issued against the detainees’ families (Ramsey 105). Acts such as these are what determined the necessity of the 1984 convention prohibiting torture, and yet the abuse continues.

Throughout the last 15 years of operation, Guantanamo Bay has faced endless criticism from both international countries and the US. The biggest issue is the legal “black hole” that exists at Guantanamo Bay and the concern over interrogation techniques and torture. We are able to torture prisoners because of how George W Bush described the war. “Bush thought it was a new kind of war and that this meant the Americans didn’t need adhere the rules of the Geneva Convention,” explains Professor Honigsberg from the University of San Francisco. The convention says prisoners of war must be treated humanely during a war. “But Bush didn’t call them ‘prisoners of war’ but ‘enemy combatants’. This was how a

The 8th amendment is very anti torture. It prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments” (“Eighth Amendment”). An example of a cruel and unusual punishment is walling. Being thrown against a hard brick wall is very cruel. Also being forced nude is pretty cruel. Many detainees are put in stress positions for many hours. These positions have their hands shackled to their head. The United Nations has banned torture. According to the UN they stated that “This prohibition is absolute and non-degradable.” Any nations in the UN that ratified the law makes it illegal in their country. This makes torture illegal in Gitmo because it is in Cuba. Many people say that if the CIA tortures people abroad it is legal. Even torture in black sites is illegal. Additionally, the United States and many other nations signed the Geneva Convention. This was signed shortly after World War II. In the treaty it states that torture is prohibited. Also, inhumane treatment is prohibited. This means things like waterboarding and sleep deprivation are banned. As you can see the US and many other nations have signed treaties banning torture. If the US tortures suspected terrorists other nations will think it is okay. They may even use it on our

Torture, being defined by the 1984 Convention Against Torture is the “cruel, inhumane, or degrading infliction of severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, on a prisoner to obtain information or a confession, or to mete out a punishment for a suspected crime” (Beehner), is condemned and considered illegal by the United States of America and carries severe punishment for those that carry out the act. Yet the numerous amounts of maltreatment of the detainees held by the US during the War on Terror has led to humanitarian interference and, more notably, concern from the United Nations assembly. The most prominent facility in which these detainees are being held is the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, a site used for indefinite detention (mostly without trial), yet other secret prisons (operated by the CIA) are scattered about the world, which are also used for “enhanced” interrogation purposes.

A Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture done just a week before this poll concluded that severe interrogation techniques were not an effective means of acquiring intelligence. This report also found that more than two dozen detainees were wrongly held (Goldman, Adam, and Peyton Craighill). This means that this people were wrongly held against their will in a foreign country without the chance of a fair trial. Most people in Guantanamo Bay are actually terrible criminals, but that doesn’t give the United States the right to torture this people as punishment and as a way to find information. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, was subjected to waterboarding, or simulated drowning, 183 times (Goldman, Adam, and Peyton Craighill). 183 times, at one point one has to wonder if the information from someone almost drowned 183 can be really that

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

The prison later became a focus of not only a controversy in the United States that spread worldwide about how the detainees were being tortured while they were being held at Guantanamo. The violation was that the people there were being abused and tortured and this was against the legal rights of the detains under the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention is a law that was created in war time to help protect soldier back in World War II who were ship wrecked, wounded, or sick soldiers during war times. (Staff, 2007) But

Torture is a heinous crime to anyone who is put under the duress of those who either get enjoyment or use it as a device for information gathering. In recent years it has been more in use as a focal point with the recent killings of aid and social workers in the Middle East and travelers that enter North Korea to state a message or obtain information. If the rules of the Geneva Convention do not apply, then what rules do apply?

Under our 8th Amendment the act of torture and cruel punishment is deemed illegal and in violation of civil liberties (Lowenthal, 2011, pg. 318). In addition, according to the international Geneva Convention, “torture and humiliating treatment” are prohibited on detainees (Lowenthal, 2011, pg. 318). However, we see once again the exception to this rule argument as discussed earlier. We see the “war and peace” argument proposed by Lowenthal in which the action is justified due to the circumstances in which the act took place (Lowenthal, 2011, pg. 308). For example, during the cold war period the United States and Soviet Union found themselves engaging in attacks on each other, that under peaceful periods, would be deemed unacceptable and immoral (Lowenthal, 2011, pg. 308). However due to the circumstances of the cold war period these controversial issues were overlooked for the security of the country (Lowenthal, 2011, pg. 318). The similar argument was made, that the War on Terror occurred during the Afghanistan war (PBS, 2004). During this period, there was an urgency from the Bush administration to collect intelligence to prevent any future 9/11 attacks (PBS, 2004) even if this meant torture. The act of detaining suspects and torturing them to collectintelligence seemed important at the

List of main grave breaches under Geneva Conventions of 1949 : (i) Wilful killing; (ii) Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments; (iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; (iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; (v) Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power; vi) Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial; (vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement; (viii) Taking of hostages.

). These High Valued Detainees were then subject to harsh interrogation. Harsh interrogation is described as, “acts that though they might constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment fail to rise to the level of torture” (Sonderegger, 2013, 346). In short, this means as long as the interrogation did not cause organ failure, death, or long term psychological disorders it was allowed. Here, the line of torture had been drawn. What some may see as inhumane or cruel are not technically considered torture. The US protected itself by defining what torture actually is. To those doing the enhanced interrogations they felt as thought they were not breaking any laws. Although they may have felt as if it were inhumane they felt as

Without a doubt, the CIA and many other powerful figures in the government obsess over the use of torture. The question is why support such a inhumane and cruel act? There are many people who believe that torture should never be used in any circumstances. However in certain situations would torture be ethical? There is a significant difference between categorical prohibition on torture and an absolute prohibition on torture. Absolute prohibition on torture neglects the use of torture, assuring that there are better techniques to obtain information. For anyone who would recognize the moral complexities of such a ban would support categorical

     Torture in Guantanamo included beatings, sleep deprivation, prolonged containment in uncomfortable positions, prolonged hooding, sexual and cultural humiliation, forced injections, and other physical and psychological torture. In more graphic reports of torture, in Abu Gharaib detainees were hooded naked, sodomized, beaten, forced to stand with electrical wire attached to genitalia while balancing on a box, having venomous snakes bite them, forced to get in sexual positions with each other naked, forced to masturbate while hooded, had chemical lights broken and the phosphoric liquid poured on them.