Torture Tactics

Torture is something that is known as wrong internationally. Torture is “deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons acting on the orders of authority, to force a person to yield information, to confess, or any other reason” (World Medical Association, 1975, pg.1). There is a general consensus that there is a right to be free from any kind of torture as it can be found in many different human rights treaties around the world. The treaties show that all of the thoughts about torture are pointing away from the right to torture someone no matter what the case

Enhanced torture techniques such as waterboarding, have been brought up in several debates. Clinton’s views on whether enhanced interrogations for terrorists is that she feels it’s wrong and that our values shouldn’t be anymore or any less on religious issues:

President W. Bush believed that lives were actually saved with the EITs in action. However President Obama believed quite the opposite in saying that the CIA Interrogation programs are a “dark and painful chapter in US history”. President Obama also signed an executive order banning the techniques (CIA Tactics: What is enhanced Interrogation?, 2014). These polar opposite states of opinion don’t stop in the white house. In fact, if it were up to a vote, majority of U.S. citizens would not feel comfortable letting this program continue (See Appendix 1). Fifty-three percent said that they would not be willing to permit the implementation of torture even if the known terrorists are aware of future danger planned for America (Dugan,2014). The evidence of how CIA officials have exceeded what they were permitted to do is another factor that promotes the controversy on this topic. There are records of forced rectal rehydration using hummus. This has been brought to the attention of doctors and is unheard of as an accepted practice (CIA Torture Whistleblower John Kiriakou. Wake up, Your Next!, 2015). However President Bush says that these techniques were “designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our constitution and our treaty obligation.” (Vice News Exclusive, 2014). And possibly the most

David Figueroa Eng. 101A Professor Stern 4/20/15 Final draft In conclusion, in discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been on the use of it. On one hand, the people against torture argue that it is cruel and unusual punishment. On the other hand, those for torture argue that it should be used for the greater good. Others even maintain that under extreme circumstances, it may be admissible if it can save American lives. My own view is that no one should be subjected to cruel punishment because it is not only illegal, unreliable, ineffective, time consuming, it also has too many flaws that could potentially ruin innocent lives. The definition of torture is any act, whether physical or emotional, or maybe both, is intentionally subjected to a specific individual or a group for many reasons. Most of these reasons that torture is administered is for extracting information from an individual or just for punishing him/her for a crime that he/she has committed or is suspected of committing. The use of torture can be used to intimidate a person to give information that may be beneficial for a nation. The use of torture has been used for many centuries. The purposes of using torture have changed over the years as well as the methods in which a person is tortured. One crucial piece that has been established that separates us human beings from barbarians is the prohibition of using torture. There are many reasons why torture has been deemed a crime now in society. There are

debate. Politics are not the same as they use to be. We as a people now live in an era, which

Torture has been a sensitive subject in our government and among the people of the US. The article “Torture is Wrong-But it Might Work” Bloche about how even though torture is not moral to some, it can still provide effective results because of advanced techniques and psychological studies. He goes on to say that many believe it is effective but others will say it does not provide adequate results in interrogation efforts. Senators such as John McCain (R-Ariz.) believe it does not help at all; however, other government officials, such as former attorney general Michael Mukasey and former vice president Dick Cheney, believe it does (Bloche 115).

The War on Terror has produced several different viewpoints on the utilization of torture and its effectiveness as a means to elicit information. A main argument has been supplied that torture is ineffective in its purpose to gather information from the victim. The usefulness of torture has been questioned because prisoners might use false information to elude their torturers, which has occurred in previous cases of torture. It has also been supposed that torture is necessary in order to use the information to save many lives. Torture has been compared to civil disobedience. In addition, the argument has been raised that torture is immoral and inhumane. Lastly, Some say that the acts are not even regarded as torture.

Is torture justified? Does it make us feel safer? Most Americans would say that it is immoral to torture any human being for any reason. There are a few people left who would disagree with that and say that some deserve to be tortured in order to obtain information that could potentially save the lives of hundreds or thousands.

Torture is not a new ethical dilemma, because torture has been practiced throughout human history and in different cultures. Now, however, the Geneva Convention and other modern norms suggest that human beings should not resort to using torture. Torture is becoming taboo as a method of intelligence gathering, which is why the methods used during the Iraq war were decried. However, the ethical case can be made for torture. If torturing one human being leads to information that could save the lives of a thousand, torture suddenly seems like a sensible method. This is a utilitarian perspective on torture, which many people find palatable. However, there are problems with this method of thinking about torture. The state-sanctioned use of torture creates a normative framework in which torture becomes acceptable. Torture sends the wrong message about what a free, open, and enlightened society should be. Even if torture is only acceptable in extreme circumstances, as with a suspect who might know something about an impending terrorist attack, who decides when and what type of torture should be used? There is too much potential for abuse of the moral loophole with regards to torture. If the United States hopes to be a role model, then torture cannot fit into its intelligence methods.

Is there a case for torture? Throughout the world for many centuries torture has been a highly debated and very controversial topic. It all started in Greece when slaves would get tortured to collect evidence for trials, crimes against the state, and treason. Not long after, the Roman Catholic Church and the Nazis’ began to use torture as well. During this time witnesses noticed what was going on and did not agree with it but had no way of stopping it. All across the world, a group of nations came together to make an agreement in opposition to torture. Not all nations were agreeing to not allow torture in their country, yet the majority of countries did agree. Even today it is hard to make the whole world agree to not doing something but making these agreements allow individual countries to comprise a support system. Many public figures and educators have made their opinion public but it has not yet evoked a change in the agreements originally set by the Geneva Convention. Torture is still today a very controversial topic with compelling arguments for both sides of whether to torture or to not.

From the perspective of someone like Kant who believes that morality is absolute and torture is wrong, then it is never acceptable no matter what the consequences. Kant would argue that it is better to allow a 'ticking bomb' to go off and kill thousands by not using torture than to willingly torture someone, because as mere mortals we can never know for certain what the ultimate results of our actions will be - there may not be a bomb at all, or the man you have may not be the one who set it, or someone else may disarm it - but we can be certain of our intent, and thus we should never act with evil intent, which wilful torture certainly is.

Both candidates agreed on the need for better cyber security. However, Trump criticized the Obama administration as having totally loss of control of the internet which America started. Hilary mentioned the need to control ISIS’s cyber activity to minimize online disciplining of ISIS sympathizers. Hilary advocated for an intelligence surge to look for every scrap of information which would also involve working more closely with allies. On physical terrorism, Hilary said air strikes would be intensified while working closely with the Arabs and Kurds to take out ISIS in Rocca. Donald Trump criticized NATO as obsolete and that they only started attacking terrorism due to remarks he had made recently about their ineffectiveness. This statement was pointed out as in accurate by Hilary who noted that NATO had been combating terror alongside the US since 9/11. Trump then raised that issue of temperament stating that Hilary did not have the stamina to be president. To this Hilary responded saying “Well, as soon as he travels to one hundred and twelve countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease-fire, a release of dissidents, and opening of new opportunities and nations around the world or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about

Medieval Times was a very dark and evil place. They tortured people for saying a little white lie. Depending on how bad what they did, the more and worse the punishment is. During this time period, many people faced gruesome and violent punishments used with crazy, out of the mind torture weapons.

Although the dialogue is decent, I think that there are a few issues that should be brought up in these debates. The top three topics I believe should be brought up are the Zika Virus, racism, and gun control. The Zika virus has spread from South America to the U.S. and it is very hazardous. The virus causes birth defects and deformities of the child of a pregnant woman. All it takes is a simple bite from a zika mosquito. I would like to hear the candidates talk more about what they are going to do to help prevent the risk of the Zika Virus spreading across America. Another topic I would like to hear the candidates talk about is racism. Racism has always been in America. With the recent continuous killings of African American males, I am curious to know the candidates opinion, and if they have any plans on trying to reduce the amount of killings. What America needs is a president who cares for all races and shows their care in their actions. The last topic I think the candidates should discuss is gun control. Since 2000, there has been over twenty mass shootings in America. This number must decrease. I want to hear the candidates talk about gun control and who they believe are qualified to carry guns. The truth of the matter is, how can America stand united when we have people in our own country killing innocent lives for no reason at

The parts in well known movies where the victim is tied to a wall and another causes unnecessary harm to him is classified as torture. In the movie, Saw ll, Jigsaw places a group of people that he believes have done something wrong in a house. Their goal is to work together to escape with clues that Jigsaw gives them. Many torture devices are placed around the house such as a pool of used needles and a furnace. The way to survive the house is to go through torture to get injections needed to stay alive. Torture is pain or physical harm inflicted onto a person by something or someone else. There are many forms of torture and these punishments are usually inflicted for a reason. Like any issue, there are many arguments against torture based on the opinion that it is inhumane. Additionally, laws have been placed into effect to prevent future torture from occurring.