Torture Or Not To Torture Essay

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.

Torture has long been a controversial issue in the battle against terrorism. Especially, the catastrophic incident of September 11, 2001 has once again brought the issue into debate, and this time with more rage than ever before. Even until today, the debate over should we or should we not use torture interrogation to obtain information from terrorists has never died down. Many questions were brought up: Does the method go against the law of human rights? Does it help prevent more terrorist attacks? Should it be made visible by law? It is undeniable that the use of torture interrogation surely brings up a lot of problems as well as criticism. One of the biggest problems is that if torture is effective at all. There are

Torture has been used throughout history to obtain pertinent information from terrorists of the state by using many different techniques both physical and emotional. The definition of torture as it pertains to gaining information is any “act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession” according to the Convention Against Torture. The legality of torture has been discussed within the international community multiple times creating multiple treaties. Such treaties came from the Geneva Convention and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. While the countries who sign these treaties have an obligation to create effective legislation against the torture of terrorists, some countries still skirt around the international laws. The United States has used torture in the recent years to obtain intelligence from suspected terrorists. The moral dilemmas behind these actions are controversial and are debated whether or not such actions should be used to achieve information. While some organizations believe the torture of terrorists is beneficial to the United States, torture is immoral, unjust, and should not be used by any organization or state to achieve its goals. The basis for the argument against torture can be affirmed using well known and accepted moral understanding from known

At some point everyone has heard of torture. It could have been in a movie or on the news, but they have heard of it. In this day and age, people would like to have believed it was all behind us in the past. Then 9/11 happened, everyone’s lives were changed with one simple act of cruelty. Before 9/11 hit the U.S. in a wave of pain, panic, and anger, our viewpoints on torture would probably have been less likely that it should be allowed. The decision to torture people who are suspected of being part of terrorist groups has always been decided by the government, for the simple reason that it is required to keep us safe from harm. Some people believe that torture is cruel, unsightly and just inhumane. On the other hand there are

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.

Sometimes torture is appropriate and necessary in certain situations. Whether or not people admit it, torture was one of the main reasons that WW2 came to an end. One of the reasons D-Day happened is because of the intelligence of man named Abwehr who had information about beaches in Normandy (history.com) Some people are

Imagine there is a bomb under downtown New York City. You have captured the terrorist who planted it there and you have the ability to torture him and find out where the bomb is planted. Otherwise, there will be countless victims. So, is torture ethical? Torture is a topic that is largely debated among many countries and is one of the leading debates today. Torture is a problem because it is considered a violation of human rights and a crime against humanity. With terrorists on the loose everywhere what are we going to do? The debate on torture really began after the signing of the Geneva conventions in 1949 after there were discussions on the treatment of soldiers in other countries. The real issue now is that many terrorist organizations in the middle east that do not abide by the Geneva Conventions

Should torture be used by police and the United States military? Some say yes, law enforcement should use all means available to apprehend terrorists and other dangerous criminals. They believe public safety and national security trump individual safety, and that some people are not worthy of humane treatment. The increasing amount of mass shootings and terrorist attacks happening in our country prove torture tactics should be used. People who commit serious acts of violence should be subject to serious methods and our military should be able to execute without hesitation.

Torture now, is looked as an old and brutal way of treating someone, in spite of origin, public standing, or any criminal acts carried out; it has remained for ages. Torture is frequently used to discipline, to get facts or a confession, to get payback on an individual/individuals or to generate intense fear within the public. Moreover, it may perhaps be just pure evil or dislike for that specific person. Some of the most generally known ways of torture consist of beating, sexual assault, suffocating, burns, raping and etc. It is morally wrong to torture because it violates the human rights and dignity, and treats the victim as a means to an end and not an end in themselves, however it may beneficial.

Torturing of detainees or human beings has been prohibited as an international law; however there are many who use this method regardless. Globally, the torture of any detainee in any country is banned and considered cruel and inhumane. According to “Physicians for Human Rights” (2011), “Despite the absolute prohibition of torture in international law, it continues to be practiced in more than 100 countries, from totalitarian regimes to democracies. Countries frequently justify the use of torture as a necessary means to extract confessions, identify terrorists, and obtain intelligence critical to preventing future violence” (Global Anti-Torture). Although there is a ban on torture globally, there are many countries that continue to use this method and either justifies using this type of punishment or denying the fact of using it. There have been many questions and concerns that have raised. The Western Governments have undermined the global ban on torture by transferring their suspects to different countries who are known for torturing prisoners (“Human Rights Watch,” 2013). The use of torture has affected many, especially

To torture or not to torture, is a huge controversial subject in today’s society. We have seen how many are tortured throughout the world for information and ultimately result in an undeserved death. By torturing men, women, and even children is to help find pertinent information or help stop future attacks. Not everyone is going to see eye to eye on whether or not torture is the right thing to do to gain information. There are four theories we are to discuss utilitarianism, Kantian duty-based ethics, virtue ethics, and Christian-principle based ethics.

Torture is becoming a large issue of human rights. There is never a situation where crucifying an individual is seen as acceptable. When torture is used, it is almost as if we are sinking down to the enemy’s level of disrespect and foolishness. As citizens of the United States, we hold ourselves to standards of justice and equality, and torturing a victim breaches all of those policies. Senator John McCain puts it best while saying that “We are Americans, and we hold ourselves to humane standards of treatment of people-no matter how evil they may be”, as Americans, we must stay humane and stick by what our country stands for. The enemies that our nation faces “have no respect for human life or human rights. They don't deserve our sympathy”. These criminals that we are fighting against have no regards for these values, and disrespect

The United States promotes international freedom, and discourages any organization who is attempting to disrupt freedom. In recent years, terrorism has become one of the United States greatest dilemmas. Terrorism is a horrific crime against society, and the people who carry out these acts are considered people some of the worst criminals of today. Following September 11 the United States made a decision to wage war of terror. The United States “War on Terror” attempts confront these people and their organizations and remove them from power, bring peace to their home nation and hopefully establish international peace. (5) The war on terror is not only fought with guns and soldiers, but in the interrogation room as leaders attempted to learn more about the interworking of these dangerous groups. The men who are captured are dangerous and sometimes well connected leaders with lots of information. The question which logically arises after these men are detained, exactly what is the proper interrogation technique and exactly how far can we go to extract information. Clearly, any information these men have could save the lives of innocent people. Due to their knowledge terrorist cannot be imprisoned without making an attempt to learn what they know. This is where the War on Terror has created a huge moral dilemma, these men are dangerous and sometimes ruthless, but when they are in our hands what exactly is acceptable to save lives. Interrogation can quickly turn to torture as

According to Andrew Moher (2004), torture is an effective method for gathering vital information. Since the catastrophic attacks of September 11th, 2001, both scholars and politicians have advocated for the use of torture methods in extreme circumstances. The United States has a duty to protect its citizens. If torture is being used to combat terrorism then it is indeed justified. By torturing a suspected terrorist, government officials may be able extract valuable intelligence that can save thousands of lives.

Torture should not be legalized in any special circumstances. It is unconditionally rejected. The first reason whether there will not be a utilitarian motivation to make lawful special cases. There is no space for exemptions because of the two fundamental arguments to the issue: The Ticking Bomb Situation (TBS), and torment creep. The ticking bomb situation, which asks: If a terrorist has planted a bomb in a building full of people, and refuses to confess where the bomb is hidden, given that there is no time to search the building nor to get all the people out to safety, is it acceptable to torture the terrorist in order to obtain that information? (O’Bryne 2003, p.155). TBS advocates often lack the courtesy to grant the same