Is Torture Justified?, University Paper.. Options

[Slimshady]

I'm writing a paper and whether or not torture is a justifiable act. I just wanna hear some your opinions, later i'll put up some scenarios to see how you fell about them.

Thanks

[Major.Pain]

In wartime we (and anyone else in the war) will use whatever weapons at our disposal to win said war. Common sense. I don't see us using torture unless our enemies have brought that particular tactic to the table. I'm trying to envision having a nice chat with a terrorist that doesn't have a real desire to live, free or otherwise. Talk about pointless conversation. The majority of people on this planet want to live free. Notice the word live before the word free. To beat the enemy one first has to get their attention. Pacifism during wartime just gets the other cheek slapped. I don't know about you but I only have 2 cheeks (on my face). Goes back to the old 'fool me once' scenario.



-Pain

[M@ster of Dis@ster]

In wartime we (and anyone else in the war) will use whatever weapons at our disposal to win said war. Common sense. I don't see us using torture unless our enemies have brought that particular tactic to the table. I'm trying to envision having a nice chat with a terrorist that doesn't have a real desire to live, free or otherwise. Talk about pointless conversation. The majority of people on this planet want to live free. Notice the word live before the word free. To beat the enemy one first has to get their attention. Pacifism during wartime just gets the other cheek slapped. I don't know about you but I only have 2 cheeks (on my face). Goes back to the old 'fool me once' scenario.



-Pain

You should read the article that I linked. Miltary teachers believe torture almost always elicits bad or useless info. However, aside from that, have we forgotten that we got to this point in history where the free nations of the world dominate PRECISELY because we HAVE NOT made torture and mayhem a part of our society? Haven't we won because we have consistently been BETTER than them, not just in the size of our militaries, but in our will to fight for what is good and right because we know, as a whole, our society has been so much more worth fighting for than one where the governments torture and abuse anyone they perceive an enemy?

Anyway, the whole torture debate seems based on the false premise that heck, if we'd just torture like the bad guys, THEN we win, they only reason we don't win is because we aren't cruel and ruthless enough. But many years of interragation techniques used by the militaries that actually WON wars says this is not so. The Soviet Union tortured countless people over the years where the USA was, for the most part, playing mostly by the rules. Who won people? Is torture and the information it produces really all it is cracked up to be?

Anyway, it is funny to watch 24 and realize that the bad guys are always dumb, torture them for a few seconds and they spout the truth about everything. Torture a "good" guy and they keep their mouth shut, or tell lies. The entire torture debate seems to be based on this black and white scenario that is so removed from real life it is laughable.