Torture. Just the word itself is enough to send shivers down one's spine. Torture is, as we all know, the act of inflicting serious pain on a person without actually killing them for a prolonged period of time.
Torture. Remember those old torture chambers in the Medieval Times castles? With those spike chairs, whips, cages, axes, chains.....
How horrible an idea it is to use weapons like that on another human being.
Yet, the United States of America, the greatest country on earth, the country with great morals, is now practicing torture. That is right: TORTURE has been legalized for military use in Iraq.
Repeat. TORTURE HAS BEEN LEGALIZED FOR MILITARY USE IN IRAQ.
We are the United States of America, and we use torture. How can such horrible bills be passed by Congress? How can we torture!!!?
"They deserve it." That is what supporters of torture say. "Using torture, we can find out leads to Osama Bin Laden." They will say that as well. Don't believe any of that. It all is complete and utter bullshit. After WWII, when the Nazi's were on trial for their horrendous war crimes, people began to support torturing them because they deserved it.
They were not tortured because according to the Nuremberg trial judges, "We shall not act at the level of the devil." In other words, even though Nazi's tortured people, killed millions, and commited such horrific war crimes, they still do not deserve torture. No one deserves torture. If we torture those who torture, then we are becoming what we hate.]
Also, using torture does not lead to gaining leads. People will say anything when being tortured. During the Spanish inquisition, converted Catholics were tortured into saying they weren't Catholic (a lie, only told to end the torturing). Then, this new "evidence" was used against them as they were exiled or killed for not being Catholic. During the Bubonic Plague, the Jews were tortured into admitting that they were poisoning the water. They of course were not; this was not the reason the plague spread. However, once admitting this to relieve the torture, the very same Jews were killed because they were "poisoning the water." People will say anything while being tortured. They will lie. And if the military takes torture confessions as leads, they will waste time, money, and possibly lives on a wild goose hunt.
There are more effective, more ethical ways to gain leads. The easiest way would be to become a confidant in the prisoner. Become their friend, and offer them amnesty and protection if they give you valuable information. The most reliable way however would be simply...to get them high. Or give them some truth serum. They will talk. We do not need to resort to such barbaric measures to extract information. There are alternative, better ways.
If we begin to torture, they will torture us as payback. They will begin to refuse surrendering because they know they will be tortured. Other countries around the world will torture. It will be horrible. It already is.
Once again, we are the United States of America, and we torture. We torture.
This needs to stop. NOW.
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This is terrible. It sucks that the typical use of comparing what one thinks is evil to the Nazi's is suddenly so valid. But it might as well be nazism. We are invading another country and now we're torturing them? This does not make me feel very patriotic.
It does need to stop. Now.
Maggie
If it was a friend, brother, sister, or just one of ours. You would hear the Right wing yelling for days. I was a soldier all this has done is open the door for all of our military to be tortured.Any soldier has the right to say NO SIR THAT IS A ILLEGAL ORDER SIR. I am sorry if this offends anyone but torture does not now or ever work. If Bush loves this idea so much let him be see what it looks like. Do you think if it was his family he would be so fast to say lets do this. Bottem line it does not work ever.
That was an interesting suggestion about getting them high. Never heard that one before.
Torture isn't right or ethical but some don't care. Some are so mad or are trying to blame someone else always that they don't care. That seems to me like the real problem.
The best way to a man's heart is really through his stomach, that way you don't have to deal with that pesky rib cage!
~Anomous
once again, you do realize that any sort of interrogation is listed under torture . . . should we not interrogate terrorists and even threaten them when necessary. I do not agree with cruel punishment, but there are a lot of things listed under 'torture' that we need to be doing . . .
Francesca Chambers
Excuse me, and I honestly mean no disrespect, but that's bullshit. Torture, (the things listed under the definition of torture by the Geneva Conventions), is not an effective interrogation method. Ask the CIA. Ask the psychology specialists in the military. Torture isn't effective. And it's morally wrong.