Throughout the history of war, the United States, as well as other countries, have held and questioned their prisoners of war. The U.S. has used interrogation methods not fully questioned by its citizens until the last few decades. There is a difference between enhanced interrogation and torture. Those who are in favor say that it is a commendable way to retrieve information and has saved thousands of lives. Those who are against say enhanced interrogation is torture and is “a vile and depraved invasion of the rights and dignity of an individual” (Innes 6). Enhanced interrogation is an effective means of gathering information used to protect the lives of U.S. citizens (and others) and is not torture because it uses restrictive methods unlike torture which is motivated by malice.
Though torture and enhanced interrogation are similar in that they both force information from captured individuals, they are basically different due to motives as well as extreme measures used. Enhanced interrogation is used by the United States for certain interrogation methods including “walling, facial hold, facial slap, cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation, and water boarding” (Quigley 3). This method of interrogation is protected against international criminal prosecution. However, torture is known as the practice of inflicting “cruel, inhumane, degrading infliction of severe pain” (Beehner 1) and is “often used to punish, to obtain information or a confession, to take revenge on a person or persons or create terror and fear” (Quiroga 7). Like enhanced interrogation, torture can be used to retrieve information. However, the motive of using torture is not always to save lives. Although enhanced interrogation us...
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... planes into Heathrow Airport, and buildings in downtown London. The critics of the program should be asked; “which of these attacks I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped?” (Cheney 5).
All in all, enhanced interrogation can be an effective and acceptable means of gathering information that has been shown to protect the lives of U.S. citizens. Though similar in that enhanced interrogation methods and torture force information from captured individuals, they are different because their motives are different as are the degree of actions used. Through the CIA enhanced interrogations, many plots against the U.S. and other countries have been stopped. The arguments for and against enhanced interrogation techniques come down to the firm belief that the U.S. must have a higher standard of its interrogation methods so that it is not guilty of torture.
ABSTRACT: Terrorists were very active long before September 11. This essay reviews the 1988 downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland and the March 1995 gas attack in the Tokyo subway. The results of these terrorist acts, who carried them out, how they were carried out, and what can be done in the future to prevent such incidents from happening again are all investigated.
Due to rising levels of danger along with the creation and utilization of new technology, the government of the twenty first century, are becoming more involved and protective similar to the government of Oceania in the book Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell. In the book Nineteen Eighty Four, the main character Winston Smith, commits acts that are not legal according to the government of Oceania. Winston commits crimes which include thinking bad things about the government of Oceania, or thought crime, plotting against the government of Oceania, and having sexual relations with a young woman named Julia. Eventually, Winston ends up getting caught by a hidden telescreen and two thought police informants. When Winston is caught, he is transported to a prison without being read rights, much less having any actual rights. While in prison Winston is deprived of food and sleep, received regular beatings, is brainwashed, and is tortured physically, mentally, and emotionally. This essay will show the reader what the modern day government of the United States of America does to its political prisoners and how this compares to the treatment of political prisoners in George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty Four.
In the United States, law enforcement officers are infamously known for violating average citizen’s constitutional rights in order to get a confession. Instead of being innocent ‘til proven guilty, the roles are actually swapped. The minute you are booked for an alleged crime you may have committed, your chances of walking away are slim. But is this actually feasible? Is the law enforcement that is supposedly there to protect us, in reality harming us?
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
Ross, Brian and Richard Esposito. “CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described.” 18 Nov. 2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
It has been almost 16 years since the one of America’s darkest days in known history. The famous and horrific 9/11 terrorist attack. A attack in New York and Washington D.C. no one could have even possibly seen coming. Even though before 9/11 there was already a Aviation security system because leader of terrorist group Osama bin Laden had already threatened America. ‘’ Prior to 9/11, the FAA… received a number of intelligence reports, including from its own intelligence division, which highlighted the threat posed by Osama bin Laden to U.S. civil aviation. ( John Stone ) PG. 15’’ On this day over 3,000 lives were claimed in a matter of less than two hours in the most heinous of acts. This was a day that will not ever be forgotten.
Torture is something that can cause severe emotional and physical damage along with being a method to compel someone to reveal “valuable” information (“Definition of torture,” n.d.). When a person is being tortured they could also be compel to participate in an activity they don’t want to do (“Definition of torture,” n.d.). Since ancient times torture has been a method used to obtain valuable intelligence. Presently, the use of torture to acquire beneficial facts is a highly controversial topic. Torture is a highly controversial topic because no one knows how effective it is at retrieving information plus it violates human rights and dignity (“Why is Torture Wrong?” 2014).
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.
Fifteen years ago on September 11th the US came to a screeching halt when nineteen men armed with utility knives hijacked four airplanes and crashed them into the world trade centers in New York City, which nearly killed three thousand citizens. This is why airport security needed to be increased.
... In a briefing held Sept. 15, 2001, George Tenet presented the Worldwide Attack Matrix, a "top-secret" document describing covert CIA anti-terror operations in 80 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The actions, underway or being recommended, would range from "routine propaganda to lethal covert action in preparation for military attacks". The plans, if carried out, "would give the CIA the broadest and most lethal authority in its history".
Enhanced interrogation methods include hypothermia, stress positions, waterboarding, and sleep deprivation. In each of these cases there have been studies such as, the one concocted by Dr. Allen Keller, of Bellevue NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. Dr. Keller once said, “Some victims were still traumatized years later. A man who had experienced waterboarding couldn’t take showers and panics when it rains.” In January 22, 2009, President Obama, signed an executive order that requires both the U.S. military and paramilitary organizations to use the Army Field Manual as the guide of getting information from prisoners, moving widely away from the Bush administration tactics. In this manual none of these enhanced interrogation methods are acceptable. If indeed, any person or persons were caught using any of these outlawed interrogation methods, they would be subject to a fine of 10,000 dollars and a life term of imprisonment. This is true even if you showed the intent to commit torture, but never actually committed the crime. If there is sufficient evidence to prove intent, then you are subject to 25 years of imprisonment. The means to not justify the necessity when it comes to enhanced interrogation. It can lead to false information, if someone is falsely accused of a crime and therefore detained by the military with no evidence and then tortured; in most scenarios an innocent person will admit to their accusation to avoid the undeniable pain of torture. There has to be due process and torture should and never will be the answer. All in all, enhanced interrogation is a technique used to induce information from possible suspects; however, this technique is immoral in ways such as, but not limited to, impacting the victims life, f...
Until there is a credible way to determine whether or not torture is in fact effective, I pass judgment that the practice should be discontinued. The question as to if the torture policy is a human rights violation or if it holds crucial necessity, is not answered in the essay. Applebaum explores the reality that torture possesses negative implications on the inflictor. After presented with the compelling stance and evidence, Applebaum raises the interesting question as to why so much of society believes that torture is successful. I agree that the torture policy is wrong, a point emphasized by Applebaum, contrary to the popular attitude surrounding the topic.
Torture involves lots of violence and is illegal in the United States. It is a technique used by the government to get information out of a criminal or terrorist. The United States uses torture by going out of the country and setting up bases perform it. Many people have been very hurt and sometimes killed. Enhanced Interrogation Techniques must be stopped because it is illegal to torture a prisoner in the United States and the technique has hurt many innocent people.
contravene laws, Jackson et al. 2011). For instance, society might regard various laws that govern them as legitimate when they perceive the legal and justice system and its authorities as promoting suitable standards of conduct, (Jackson et al. 2011). Consequently, such legitimacy pertains to the perception that various enacted laws are supposed to be complied with not as a result of external endorsement, rather because they are the correct behavioral standards, (Jackson et al. 2011). Society may confer legitimacy on law enforcers not merely due to the law enforcers’ adherence to standards of good behavior, but rather because it perceives the law enforcers as representing certain normative ethical frameworks, (Hough et al, 2010). This is particularly
Torture is the process of inflicting pain upon other people in order to force them to say something against their own will. The word “torture” comes from the Latin word “torquere,” which means to twist. Torture can not only be psychologically but mentally painful. Before the Enlightenment, it was perfectly legal to torture individuals but nowadays, it is illegal to torture anyone under any circumstances. In this essay, I will demonstrate why torture should never acceptable, not matter the condition.