Enhanced Interrogation, more commonly referred to by the public as torture, is a form of interrogation in which subjects are suspected to extreme force in order to obtain crucial information. The subject, being highly controversial, is often deemed to be unethical and ineffective. However, this is not this case. Although the methods are cruel, it is a necessary evil in order to obtain highly important information from terrorists, both foreign and domestic. Questions about the necessity of such an extreme form of interrogation have been answered in many different ways from many different groups of individuals. Should it be considered constitutional? In what situations should it be used, and should there be restrictions? The method of enhanced interrogation, if used constitutionally, is necessary in certain cases if restrictions are put in place. In terms of enhanced interrogation, different presidential administrations have handled the matter in highly different ways. For example, under the Obama administration, enhanced interrogation was banned from use in the United States. In the words of John McCain, enhanced interrogation “serves as a great propaganda tool for those who …show more content…
The methods used must be “in full compliance with the Constitution, statutes, and treaty obligations” and “leading members of Congress, including the current speaker of the House, [must be] briefed on the program and on the methods” (Cheney “Enhanced Interrogation Methods Are Legal, Justified, and Necessary”). These precautions are necessary to make sure that the use of enhanced interrogation is deemed logical and beneficial to the people of the United States at all times. The groups who are allowed to use such methods must be managed as well, such as the CIA or military. It is highly important that these regulations be followed in order to maintain ethical and moral
Some believe that even in the most dire of situations, the act of torturing a prisoner to obtain information is not the most effective or efficient way to glean accurate information about a threat or terrorist group; experts have said that it is actually a very inefficient way to go about this and even that it is only on rare occasions that this results in useful, accurate information. However, there are also those who believe the exact opposite; that the only way to get information from a terrorist, or someone believed to be involved in terrorist activity, is to mentally break them down until they have suffered enough to surrender any information they might know or to the point where they just say whatever is necessary for the “interrogation” to stop, as in 1984.
Ross, Brian, and Richard Esposito. "CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described." ABC News. ABC News Network, 08 Nov. 2005. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. .
Rather, when torture is acceptable, and on which term should be it performed? The argument lest authorization torture his an advisor Sharde presumption that torture is currently happening and will be happening in the future hence the the. Plan of torture and. Dershowitz believes in a formal, visible, accountable, and controlled system of inflicting that would ideally leave torture as a last resort. The system would begin by granting the suspect immunity. Then suspect the be would compelled to testify; if the suspect were to refuse to exchange information, the next step would be acknowledging the possibility of torture while continuing to give the option of immunity. In a case of a suspect refusing to exchange information, even with immunity, a judicial warrant must be granted to proceed with purposely elicited
The National Security Agency or NSA for short is a United States federal government intelligence organization that is used for global monitoring and collecting data. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush implemented the NSA’s domestic spying program to conduct a range of surveillance activities inside the United States. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this program as it allows the NSA to tap into the public’s phone calls, cameras, internet searches, text messages, and many other mediums to seek out individuals that may be potential threats to the security of the general public. Many individuals say that the tactics used by the NSA are unconstitutional as they invade people’s privacy. This is primarily
“President Bush has stated that about a hundred detainees were held under the Central Intelligence Agency secret detention program, about a third of whom were questioned using “enhanced interrogation techniques. The CIA has a way of very publicly blowing their cover seeming to pop up wherever turmoil, and political problems arise. The CIA exists to prevent threats, its operations involve covert actions or spying through various means to gather critical intelligence data. The CIA dates back to 1947. The qualifications and skills are above average. The job of the CIA is to anticipate and quickly assess rapidly evolving international developments and their impact, both positive and negative, on US policy concerns. When researching the career of
Our interrogation tactics have come a long way from using physical force to retrieve incriminating evidence, which was referred to as the “third degree”, to non-violent methods of obtaining information. We’d like to think that the system we have instilled in America is perfect and fair, but that is far from the reality. Although we have eliminated physical force from interrogations, the new equivalent implemented to the third degree is psychological torture. The nation-wide system used to interrogate potential suspects- the Reid Technique- is heavily flawed and corrupt. In his book Unfair, author Adam Benforado, unveils the truth behind modern interrogation style: it coerces suspects into producing false confessions by subjecting them to grueling
If someone broke the law trying to help the American keep their constitutional rights, would you consider them a hero or a criminal? Well that’s exactly what’s going on today with Edward Snowden. In 2013 Edward Snowden leaked classified information to the American people, information that shined a light on the dark things that the U.S government was doing behind closed doors. He revealed that the U.S government has been going against the constitution and taking away our freedoms. The U.S government has been taking away our freedoms however, Snowden is being called the criminal. Thesis Statement here.
Ross, Brian and Richard Esposito. “CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described.” 18 Nov. 2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
What do you consider to be cruel and unusual punishment? Most people when asked this question think of medieval torture devices, burning people alive, and hard slave labor. However, cruel and unusual punishment, which is a protected against right by the eighth amendment, stretches far beyond these cliches and is still occurring in modern society. The case Miller v. Alabama and a parallel case, Jackson v. Hobbs deals with such punishments and brings up the questions of what, in current times, is to be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Miller v. Alabama addresses with the debate that arose surrounding the mandatory sentence of life without parole for a juvenile when two boys, fourteen-year-old Evan Miller and sixteen-year-old Colby Smith,
The method of interrogation, water boarding may be controversial but I think it is necessary in order to extract vital information from Al Qaeda operatives and other terrorists groups.
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, were used in previous administrations. The techniques were considered at the very least to be cruel and inhuman. Among these are attention strikes and stress positions. The techniques violate human rights as well as detainee rights. There are few serious arguments for the retention of enhanced interrogation. The most compelling is the "ticking time bomb theory." This theory is in fact based on logical fallacy. An executive order has banned the use of enhanced interrogation. It is the position of this summary that the current ban remain in effect.
Applebaum believes that torture should not be used as a means of gaining information from suspects. Applebaum's opinion is supported through details that the practice has not been proven optimally successful. After debating the topic, I have deliberated on agreeing with Applebaum's stance towards the torture policy. I personally agree with the thought to discontinue the practice of torture as a means of acquiring intel. I find it unacceptable that under the Bush Administration, the President decided prisoners to be considered exceptions to the Geneva Convention. As far as moral and ethical consideration, I do not believe that it is anyone's right to harm anyone else, especially if the tactic is not proven successful. After concluding an interview with Academic, Darius Rejali, Applebaum inserted that he had “recently trolled through French archives, found no clear examples of how torture helped the French in Algeria -- and they lost that war anyway.” There are alternative...
With the threats to the United States by foreign nations, techniques such as the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques(EITs) were created. These techniques were developed by the CIA which eventually became integrated into the culture of the United States. Along with the creation of EIT came the debate about the morality of their use in the country. The Enhanced Interrogation Techniques were meant to retrieve important information from prisoners. The idea of “enhanced interrogation techniques’ that would allow the United States to get prisoners to provide accurate information without torturing them” (Risen 177).
The notion that fear will make a human leak information is not a novel idea. Torture has widely been used throughout the world by many groups of people. After World War II, The Geneva Convention prohibited any nation from partaking in torture. The emergence of terrorist activity on American soil brought up the question whether torture should be advocated or prohibited from a moral standpoint. The US changed the definition of torture in order to forcibly attain potentially important information from captives. Even though the new clause suggested that many of the methods the US used were now legal, other countries still had an issue in terms of honoring the Geneva Convention and basic human rights. Advocates for torture promise that countless innocent lives can be saved from the information obtained from a single torture victim. Opponents to the advocates suggest that torture often results in misleading information. Morally, torture is not justified as it degrades humans and often leaves victims scarred for life and possibly dead.
2. Mass surveillance infringes on people’s privacy against their will In a Harvard Law Review article entitled “What Privacy is For”, Professor Julie Cohen argues “privacy is shorthand for breathing room to engage in the process of…self-development.” Privacy is fundamental to self-actualization as it gives us freedom to explore our individual identities, away from public scrutiny. It dignifies us, giving us a sense of freedom and comfort. Privacy is well enshrined in society.