Why Torture Is Still Wrong

[struggle4progress]

Aaron Zelinsky
Adjunct Professor
Peking University School of Transnational Law

Kathryn Bigelow's new film, Zero Dark Thirty, has reignited the debate over the role torture should play in U.S. counterterrorism policy. Here's the CliffsNotes answer: none ...

... Arguing that something works isn't a valid response to deep-seated moral objections. Lost in the argument over torture's effectiveness is the debate over torture's morality ...

... Many professional interrogators believe torture is ineffective and counterproductive. Senator McCain -- no softie on national defense -- has unequivocally opposed torture and regularly recounts how it didn't work on him. Even assuming that information obtained by torture was essential to finding bin Laden, that doesn't mean that torture was essential to obtaining that information ...

... Torture makes individuals less likely to surrender to U.S. troops because they fear inhumane treatment. It makes others more likely to mistreat our troops because, they argue, they're only following the U.S. example. Torturing also makes it easier for terrorists to recruit, because we lose the moral high ground ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-zelinsky/torture-zero-dark-thirty_b_2292436.html

[Vincardog]

1. The purpose of torture is to instill fear in the populace the same as any other

form of terrorism.

[libodem]

2. It is wrong

To harm anyone under your care and control, period.

[SharonAnn]

3. One thing I agree with JOhn McCain on,"It's not about who they are. It's about who we are."

Of course, he may have changed his mind since this 2001-2002 quote, but I still agree with it.

[cbrer]

4. We hung Japanese soldiers after WW2 for water boarding our POWs

We must not allow sadists and inhuman policy makers/implementers to turn us all into monsters.

[Darren45]

5. Spam deleted by NRaleighLiberal (MIR Team)