Torture in Guantanamo
Under American influence, Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian citizen contained in the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was tortured to an extent where his whole body was burned. Binyam is just one example of the claims of torture found in the Guantanamo Bay prison, otherwise known as “Gitmo”. Many of the Gitmo detainees are men who made most, if not all, Americans fear them after their attacks on September 11, 2001, but after reports of abuse, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have promised to close down the Guantanamo detention facility.
Too many Guantanamo Bay detainees have been abused in the prison by the large, deep water harbor on Cuba’s southeastern coast; one of the best-protected bays in the world (“Guantanamo Bay” 1). With all sorts of new and unique torture tactics being used at this prison, American citizens are unaware that they are being represented in such an unruly manner by their own military forces. According to many sources, close to 250 prisoners are said to be left at Gitmo. These men are held behind bars because of politically motivated convictions which cannot be defended in court (Lithwick 1). At least 21 alleged convicts were killed during (or after) their interrogations while in custody (Ardiente 2). Many reports of the long-term effects the imprisonment has on the men inside those prison doors. Some of the long-term effects placed on the detainees include hallucinations, loss of weight, anxiety, confusion, impaired eyesight, issues with concentrating, and hostility (Greenberg 5). America falls short of policies and training that prevent the effects of the prolonged interrogations. “Since there was no way of knowing if any “humiliating or degrading treatment” was causing long-t...
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The 'Standard' of the 'St The Biography Channel website, 1 February 2014. Web. The Web. The Web. Harthorne, Michael.
Gresham M. Sykes describes the society of captives from the inmates’ point of view. Sykes acknowledges the fact that his observations are generalizations but he feels that most inmates can agree on feelings of deprivation and frustration. As he sketches the development of physical punishment towards psychological punishment, Sykes follows that both have an enormous effect on the inmate and do not differ greatly in their cruelty.
26. Glover Julian, “Guantanamo piled lie upon lie through the momentum of its own existence” in The Guardian, April 25, 2011
Ross, Brian and Richard Esposito. “CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described.” 18 Nov. 2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
Smothers, Ronald. (1998, February 6). Asylum Seekers Testify on Abuse by Jail Guards. The New York Times, pp. 1A, 9A.
* "BBC - Media Center - Interview With Matt Smith." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 30 Dec. 2013. .
Harris, H. (2017, March). The Prison Dilemma: Ending America's Incarceration Epidemic. Foreign Affairs, pp. 118-129.
In “The Case For Torture” an article written by Michael Levin, he attempts to justify the use of torture as a means of saving lives. Throughout the article, Levin gives the reader many hypothetical examples in which he believes torture is the only method of resolution. Though I agree with Levin, to some degree, his essay relies heavily on the fears of people and exploits them to convince people into thinking pain is the only way. In certain aspects, I could agree entirely with Levin, but when one reads deeper into the article, many fallacies become apparent. These fallacies detract from the articles academic standing and arguably renders the entire case futile. Levin’s strategy of playing with the fears of people is genius, but, with more creditable details of the issue the article would have sustained the scrutiny of more educated individuals. The addition of more concrete information, would have given people something to cling to, inherently improving the articles creditability.
Mortlock, D. (2010, July 1st). Definite Detention: The Scope of the President's Authority to Detain Enemy Combatants. Ebsco Host, pp. 375-404.
Torture may be an inhumane way to get the information needed to keep the citizens of the United States safe from the attacks that are threatened against them, but there is rarely a course of action that will ensure the safety of a nation’s citizens that doesn’t compromise the safety of another group of people. Nevertheless, we must conserve as much humanity as possible by looking at the situation we are in and ensure that we are approaching the torture in an ethical manner. Although torture is valid on moral grounds, there are many who oppose it, such as Jamie Mayerfeld as he states in his 2009 article “In Defense of the Absolute Prohibition of Torture”.
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.
Mauer, Marc. 1999. The Race to Incarcerate. New York: The New Press National Research Council. 1993.
The book’s title, with its dry allusion to the separation of powers, does not do it justice. “Guantánamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power” represents the best account yet of what Mr. Margulies calls “a human rights debacle that will eventually take its place alongside other wartime misadventures, including the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the prosecutions under the Espionage and Sedition Acts during World War I, and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War.”
Atul Gawande writes the article, ¨Is Long-Term Solitary Confinement Torture?¨ successfully convincing the reader that solitary confinement is nothing less than unreasonable torture. Gawande writes about men who have survived solitary as POWs and within our own criminal justice system. He uses information in a persuasive way that effectively convinces the reader. By removing solitary confinement and switching to a prison system more focused on rehabilitation, we can make America a better place to
Smothers, Ronald. (1998, February 6). Asylum Seekers Testify on Abuse by Jail Guards. The New York Times, pp. 1A, 9A.