Quote:
Originally Posted by flstf
I am personally troubled by my feelings on the matter of torture. I think torture is horrible and if asked if I condone it my immediate reaction is hell no. However if faced with specific details about a situation I can imagine many circumstances where not only would I condone it I would strongly support it. Maybe this is the result of watching too many crime dramas and shows like 24.
I haven't read enough about the charges against the CIA, etc..But I suspect my position on the matter would depend on the details of every case of suspected torture.
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It's counterintuitive for most people that torture cannot really function as a tool for gaining intelligence, but it's something we should all deal with. As entertaining as 24 is, and it's certainly that, if jack Bauer were real, he likely would have extracted false confessions half the time he tortured and might have gotten his fellow characters killed. Of course Jack Bauer isn't real. Los Angeles was never nuked, the first black president wasn't assassinated and replaced by a traiter, African militants never breached the White House and kidnapped the president, and there's no way Kim Bauer could be that stupid and unlucky... there's just no way.
According to virtually every expert (REAL experts, people that have actually witnessed or carried out torture), not only does it not work but there are better and more humane options. We can remain the "good guys" AND attain life-saving intelligence. Does that seem like the best option? Instead of sacrificing our dignity and morality for unreliable intelligence, we can remain steadfast and respectful to the principles upon which this country is founded while simultaneously effectively gaining reliable intelligence.