Use of Torture is Never Justified

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Recommended: The Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act

Pretend it’s a regular Tuesday morning going through the usual routine: waking up, taking a shower, eating breakfast, and then in the background, there’s breaking news. A plane has crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Mesmerized, you stand by the television listening to newscasters discuss this ‘terrible accident.’ Then, seventeen minutes later, the South Tower was hit. It’s finally becoming clear that this was no accident. Well, this was the exact scene on the morning of September 11, 2001. Soon after, President George W. Bush sent the most powerful military in the world in a search for “those who were behind these evil acts.” President Bush pledged to “direct every took of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon of war to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network.” The problem is, when does his authority stop, and international laws begin? On October 26, 2001, President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law, and the controversy began. This law allowed for the detention of ‘enemy combatants’ who were deemed to be a threat to national security. Not only could authorities hold them, but they could also take them to unnamed locations without notifying their family for as long as it is considered necessary. Reports began leaking about the methods of interrogation being used on detainees in 2003. These methods included forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation, and waterboarding. The biggest problem with these techniques is that they violate the Geneva Conventions. Going further, it hasn’t been proven that these techniques have directly affected our counter-terrorism efforts. This is because pri...

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...ve Macmillan, 2010. Print. 20 July 2011.

Evinger, B., and Cheryl Bourassa. "Counterpoint: Using Torture is Illegal and Never Justified.” Points of View: Torture (2009): 3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 19 July 2011.

Jacobs, W.E., and Heather Newton. "Point: Using Torture May Be Justified In Extreme Cases.” Points of View: Torture (2009): 2. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 19 July 2011.

Krauthammer, Charles. “The Truth About Torture." The Weekly Standard 11.12 (2005): Web. 19 July 2011.

Masci, David. "Torture." CQ Researcher 18 Apr. 2003: 345-68. Web. 20 July 2011.

Phillips, Joshua. “Inside the Mind of a Torturer.” Weekend America. American Public Media, 18 Oct. 2008. Web. 6 Aug. 2011.

Sabl, Andrew. "Torture as a Case Study: How to Corrupt Your Students." Chronicle of Higher Education 52.12 (2005): B5. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2011.

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