# Torturing Suspected Terrorists

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 22, 2001, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846 "2001-10-22T12:59:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2

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### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/21 "2001-10-22T18:00:28Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by IzzyR \*  
> The main problem from my perspective is the possibility of torturing people who genuinely do not know the answers.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*  
> I am also depressed by your idea of paying innocent people to compensate them for being tortured.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by IzzyR \*  
> I’m not sure what you mean by this. I am not advocating deliberately torturing innocent people and then paying them for it. I am casting about for something that would deter law enforcement from lowering the standard of certainty that they apply before deciding to torture someone, and wonder if lawsuits would be an effective deterrent.

Yes, I should have put it better. One of the main reasons I find torture abhorrent is that innocent people will suffer. I don’t consider a payment afterwards sufficient compensation.  
I also find the use of the phrases ‘law enforcement’ and ‘torture’ incompatible in a civilised society.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*  
> This is the start of a slippery slope, that ends with Muslim (or Asian) shops being fire-bombed ‘because THEY did it’.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by IzzyR \*  
> I disagree with this.

My point is once you decide that certain people deserve lesser standards (“these suspects are probably terrorists - let’s torture them”), you have started a moral decline that leads to the sort of appalling behaviour described above.

> [@](#):
>
> Imagine the propaganda value of a terrorist telling potential supporters “The USA uses torture on our freedom fighters.”

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by IzzyR \*  
> I doubt if it would be too high. Among other things, most terrorists and their potential supporters are from societies that don’t object to law enforcement torture anyway.

I think you massively underestimate the passions aroused by the statement above.  
I think you have no idea of how people in other societies view the US.  
I think you know little about terrorism in Europe.

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### Author: ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/22 "2001-10-22T18:12:46Z")

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I think from a purely pragmatic standpoint that physical torture isn’t very useful.

I guess if you’re looking for specific information, and you have several different subjects, you can use the double blind method to ensure that you don’t get told merely what you want to here. If you have well-trained torturers you could also hopefully ensure that they don’t lead the witness so to speak.

Even so, I’m not sure how much credence you can put in information received under duress.

I imagine that a trained interrogator is much better at extracting information through psychological manipulation than physical torture.

I don’t really think you can consider truth serum a form of torture, but that’s a whole different can of worms.

A civilized society doesn’t engage in torture, IMO.

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### Author: ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/23 "2001-10-22T18:22:51Z")

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Most of the responses to my post have, unsurprisingly, selectively misrepresented my argument.

For once, **IzzyR** , I think we are in complete agreement. When the goal of the interrogation is to extort a confession, be it 1692 Salem or 1492 Spain, torture is manifestly useful. There is only so much an ordinary person can endure thumbscrews, the rack, the wheel, or any of the other inventive mechanisms developed for the purpose of information extraction.

But neither **IzzyR** nor I are particularly interested in confessions. We are not trying to save the terrorists time in Purgatory by inflicting earthly pain on them now.

To prevent further mischaracterization of my argument, I would repeat my first sentence:

> [@](#):
>
> I am also completely opposed to the sort of human butchery that torture requires.

Just because I think an appeal to pragmatism is a poor argument does not mean that I endorse torture. In no universe does ~P necessarily equal Q.

> [@](#):
>
> The response by El\_Kabong did not address the point at hand, which was people saying what the interrogator wanted to hear. The idea that a prisoner might not know the answer is a separate issue, as has been discussed previously. But the fact that some prisoners might not know the information would not make all torture useless.

I agree with **Izzy** completely.

**Steve Wright**

> [@](#):
>
> So, hypothetically, if person X is brought to you as a terrorist suspect… if he says, “No, I am not a terrorist”, will you believe him, because he isn’t flattering you? I do not believe that, historically, torturers have proceeded on this basis.

I am surprised someone as intelligent as you are would address my claim so superficially.

> [@](#):
>
> If he gives you an answer you don’t believe, you apply pain until he changes it. But the only criterion to be satisfied is whether you, personally, accept the answer - its objective truth doesn’t figure into the equation. So you have no reliable measure of whether your victim is telling the truth, or lying to avoid pain.

Or you apply pain until you are satisfied that he is answering the question to the best of his ability. Do recall that torture is not terribly effective absent a certain amount of existing evidence. Moral reasons aside, I would not advocate pulling a random person off the street and torturing him until he admits he is a terrorist. Any confession or prediction of future events simply cannot be verified in any way.

Part of the psychological appeal of torture is the fear that the torturers know something that the client doesn’t, and are hence leading him and leading him to give a false answer, whereupon they can inflict yet more pain on account of his dishonesty. So the client can fabricate whatever stories he wants, but the fact is, he will _never_ know exactly what dirt his torturers have on him. If they have no dirt at all, and he is essentially a random man on the street, then they have no business excruciating him.

> [@](#):
>
> So, if an innocent person is compelled to make up a story in order to make you stop torturing them, and you later find the story to be false, your answer is to torture them harder… but you still have no guarantee they will tell you the truth. In fact, if they are innocent, and you don’t accept that as an answer, then your proposed method only guarantees they’ll tell you more lies. And you wind up devoting resources to investigating those lies - resources which you may well need elsewhere to counter a real threat

Perhaps you need to read my post more carefully before imputing these kinds of things. ~P != Q

MR

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### Author: ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/24 "2001-10-22T18:25:42Z")

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Unless **Wildest Bill** has just been reincarnated, I’m finding it difficult to believe that we are even _having_ a discussion about the use of torture here in America.

Um, the answer is “No”. No, we should not use torture. Not now, not ever.

MH

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### Author: ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/25 "2001-10-22T18:34:25Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> In the case of witches, or any other example of confessions obtained by torture, the goal of the torturer is not to find out the truth. He already believes himself to know the truth - his objective is to get the victim to blurt of the words he wants him to say. By contrast, in our hypothetical case here, the interrogators are trying to find out the truth - it will do them no good to get the torturee to provide false information that will only lead law enforcement astray.

I don’t understand how you can make a distinction here. You say that Increase Mather and the boys were already convinced, and weren’t really seeking the truth. That might well have been the case. But there are no guarantees that these hypothetical US torturers would be any different. Apart from the issue of how to determine the veracity of coerced statements, which I believe you have not yet adequately addressed, there remains the issue of personal biases. If our CIA torturers have reason to believe that Ahmed Doe is an al Qaeda lieutenant, and therefore must know X, Y, and Z pieces of information, then Ahmed willl be tortured until he provides that information, _whether he actually knows it or not_, until the torture ceases.

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### Author: ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/26 "2001-10-22T18:48:23Z")

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**IzzyR** you surmised correctly. I object to torture on moral grounds.

And practical. We are a party to the [UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment](http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/ed48775c171a9370c1256a84004ae0e7?Opendocument)

> [@](#):
>
> _from above link_  
> torture constitutes a criminal obliteration of the human personality which can never be justified under any circumstances, by any ideology or by any overriding interest, and convinced that a society that tolerates torture can never claim to respect human rights,

When we adopt the practices of the despot and the terrorists we lose our own respect and moral high ground. Am I an idealist? Maybe.

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### Author: ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/27 "2001-10-22T18:57:24Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*  
> Yes, I should have put it better. One of the main reasons I find torture abhorrent is that innocent people will suffer. I don’t consider a payment afterwards sufficient compensation.

Nor do I. I don’t think it evens the score. As I said, I was introducing compensation as a possible means of preventing such abuses from happening, rather than as a way of making everything right afterwards.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*  
> My point is once you decide that certain people deserve lesser standards (“these suspects are probably terrorists - let’s torture them”), you have started a moral decline that leads to the sort of appalling behaviour described above.

I understand what a slippery slope is. I don’t think it will happen in this case in the manner that you describe. Two guys, two opinions, nothing more to add.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Scylla \*  
> A civilized society doesn’t engage in torture, IMO.

What does this mean? This sounds like some British aristocratic “we just don’t do things that way”, rather than the pragmatic cost/benefit analysis you engage in [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=93810).

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by andros \*  
> But there are no guarantees that these hypothetical US torturers would be any different. Apart from the issue of how to determine the veracity of coerced statements, which I believe you have not yet adequately addressed, there remains the issue of personal biases. If our CIA torturers have reason to believe that Ahmed Doe is an al Qaeda lieutenant, and therefore must know X, Y, and Z pieces of information, then Ahmed willl be tortured until he provides that information, _whether he actually knows it or not_, until the torture ceases.

There are no “guarantees” of anything. Every system can be abused, and I agree that the consequences of these abuses will be greater if the penalties are greater as in a system involving torture. The reason I haven’t “adequately addressed” this is because I do not know all the answers myself. I would be in favor if such abuses could be limited, I would oppose it if they could not. The article suggests that in European countries (France, in particular) there is more physical pressure applied than in America, and Israel has been known to use such techniques. We might be wise to study their examples.

Your post was in response to **Maeglin’s** point about the notion that torture is **ineffective** as a practical matter, and I interpreted your post in that context and responded accordingly. The fact that there is no guarantee that abuses will not occur does not make torture ineffective as a law enforcement technique.

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### Author: ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/28 "2001-10-22T19:44:49Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*  
> **The British have used unpleasant interrogation techniques on IRA suspects. This was promptly used to raise money from US supporters.**

And the discovery that the Spanish government had used torture against ETA suspects resulted in an upsurge of ETA violence. What good is it to use torture to gain knowledge of one planned terrorist action, when the torture itself prompts many others?

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### Author: ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/29 "2001-10-22T19:59:29Z")

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**Andros** , I believe I have misinterpreted your most recent post in my response. I incorrectly read you to be making the point that system will result in abuses, when you actually were continuing the line of reasoning about the method being ineffective. My apologies. Nonetheless, my main point still applies - it is true that such a system will not be foolproof, but most methods are not, and I imagine it will add quite a lot.

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### Author: ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/30 "2001-10-22T20:29:37Z")

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Traditional torture is frowned upon for all the reasons noted above.

My own experiences seem to indicate that one can adapt very quickly to extreme pain, which might mean that actual torture isn’t as effective as its reputation. And once tortured, there is very little reason for a prisoner to believe he will escape the situation with his life. That may actually reinforce his willingness to remain silent or to fabricate a story.

However, the _threat_ of torture might be very persuasive, in combination with other psychological pressuring methods. Truth drugs, sleep deprivation, cross-referencing between subjects, and the mention in passing that extradition to Saudi Arabia is being processed could be effective in getting a straight story out of a prisoner.

An article on the subject might make for some fascinating prison bathroom reading, too. Wink, wink.

However, it’s worth pointing out that just the threat of torture may meet Amnesty International’s [definition of torture](http://www.amnesty.org.uk/torture/definition.shtml):

_[T]he deliberate infliction of severe pain **or suffering** by state agents, or similar acts by private individuals for which the state bears responsibility through consent, acquiescence or inaction. We also use the term “torture” to refer to deliberate pain or suffering inflicted by members of armed political groups._ (my bolding --SK)

Does scaring the living shit out of someone constitute “suffering inflicted”? I’m not sure.

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### Author: ![botheredballs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@botheredballs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botheredballs)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/31 "2001-10-22T20:42:03Z")

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I don’t see anything wrong with the truth serum in Federal terrorist investigations - no physical harm is done. It must not be that reliable or else they would probably use it all the time.

There is a slippery slope here, but sometimes common sense has to be exercised, whether it fits some broader definition of freedom or not!

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### Author: ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/32 "2001-10-22T20:43:56Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Sofa King \*  
> **[snip]  
> the mention in passing that extradition to Saudi Arabia is being processed  
> [snip]**

This is not necessarily effective either. _from the Washington Post article linked above_

> [@](#):
>
> In 1997, Hani Abdel Rahim al-Sayegh, a Saudi citizen arrested in Canada and transferred to the United States under the promise that he would tell about the bombing of the Khobar Towers military barracks in Saudi Arabia, refused to cooperate in the investigation when he got here.
> 
> The FBI threatened to have al-Sayegh sent back to Saudi Arabia, where he could have faced beheading, thinking it would get him to talk. “He called their bluff and went back, was not executed and is in jail,” a government official said.

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### Author: ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/33 "2001-10-22T20:50:57Z")

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Izzy:

Oh yeah, I forgot that part in that thread where I was talking about how great torture was. Silly me.

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### Author: ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/34 "2001-10-22T21:04:18Z")

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**Sofa King** wrote:

> [@](#):
>
> Does scaring the living shit out of someone constitute “suffering inflicted”? I’m not sure.

I’m not sure either, but your post reminds me of the razor blade scene in Mississippi Burning. Though fictionalized, the movie portrays a situation in which the _threat_ of torture is an effective (if not moral) investigative tool.

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### Author: ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/35 "2001-10-22T21:08:41Z")

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Yeah, I saw that, **Homebrew** , but not to split too fine a hair, the threat of extreme debasement and pain might hold greater sway than the threat of death, which a lot of these yahoos appear to welcome.

Perhaps another country, like France, which has a (possibly erroneous) reputation for torturing terrorists, might have been a better suggestion.

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### Author: ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/36 "2001-10-22T21:18:57Z")

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**Sofa King**

I don’t know about AI, but it may meet the UN definition (in your link)

> [@](#):
>
> an act by which severe pain or suffering, **whether physical or mental** , is intentionally inflicted on a person", for a purpose such as obtaining information or a confession, punishment, intimidation or coercion, "or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind

**Scylla**

Well that thread was not about torture - it was about civilian casualties. But your main point (or one of your main points) was that though we might prefer to keep to a higher standard, we can sometimes be forced by circumstances to abandon this - that in such cases one cannot simply say “we never do this”, but must make a rational analysis of the suffering that will occur with or without the suggested action. And if an action will lessen suffering overall, we should engage in it, no matter how ruthless it is.

This does not mean that you cannot argue against torture on the grounds that it is ineffective, or not effective enough to justify it. But it seems to be inconsistent with an argument that “A civilized society doesn’t engage in torture”.

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### Author: ![celestina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/258eb7/32.png) [@celestina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/celestina)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/37 "2001-10-23T04:54:40Z")

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By the way, in the thread on torture by Izzy,  
advise them to see the film 'La Batialle d’Alger"  
before commenting one way or another on torture. The  
film is stunningly accurate and stunningly relevant to  
the current events, for numerous historical reasons.  
Indeed for folks who wish to understand the mentality  
of both al-Qaeda (why do some many folks fucking add a  
“u”?) and the larger movement.

(See  
[http://members.netscapeonline.co.uk/jameswtravers/nf\_La\_bataille\_d\_Alger\_rev.html](http://members.netscapeonline.co.uk/jameswtravers/nf_La_bataille_d_Alger_rev.html)  
Some actors were actual participants in the events.  
As the linked review says:

“One remarkable feature of the film is its  
non-partisan approach to the subject. The Arabs and  
the French are shown in the same colours. The  
atrocities committed by one side are matched equally  
by those on the other. The French soldiers are shown  
torturing prisoners in graphic detail, whilst later we  
see innocent French civilians being slaughtered by  
Arab bombs. Whilst there is some pretty vivid  
demonstrations of violence and cruelty, this is  
probably less shocking than the attitudes of the  
French and FLN terrorists.”)

Oddly enough, although I have both seen the first hand  
results of toture (stomach churning it is) and have  
mild unconfidence, I am not willing to rule it out. I  
have seen al-Qaeda’s allied groups operate, I have  
seen the reality on the ground.

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### Author: ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2001, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/38 "2001-10-23T06:10:50Z")

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You can’t threaten torture without actually doing it, because if the person calls your bluff and you don’t act, then you’ve lost any credibility.

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### Author: ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/39 "2001-10-23T06:15:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*Oddly enough, although I have both seen the first hand results of toture (stomach churning it is) and have  
> mild unconfidence, I am not willing to rule it out. I have seen al-Qaeda’s allied groups operate, I have seen the reality on the ground. \*\*

Knowing the direct contact **Collounsbury** has had in this arena, I am forced to rethink my own revulsion about government sponsored torture.

I will mention something once said to me about American neo-nazis;

“The framers of the constitution could not have possibly been able to anticipate the advent of something so morally repugnant as Nazism and its attendent horrors when they sanctified free speech in such a manner.”

However much I might gain some small (or large) personal satisfaction from torturing Osama bin Laden (and gaining critical information about Al Qaeda, oh to Hell with it, just torturing the maggot), I am intensely opposed to government sponsored torture.

That said, terrorism as we now know it, is almost a creature of another color. The psychotic disregard for human life represented by such heinousness is light years beyond our daily lives like an atomic bomb is to a firecracker. Speaking of atomic bombs, here’s our hypothetical scenario:

You are involved in law enforcement. You have completely credible intelligence indication that a group of identifiable terrorists are in possession of a thermonuclear weapon that they are successfully arming. The intelligence shows that this act is without a doubt being perpetrated within the limits of a recognizable major metropolis. While attempting to interdict this heinous crime in progress you manage to capture two of the conspiritors identified to you. The remaining terrorists are able to remain hidden and retain possession of the bomb although they cannot transport it from the location of its arming.

You know that you have a limited amount of time before the nuclear device is detonated and you are unable to convince the detainees to reveal the location of the bomb in a nonviolent fashion. What reasons do you have for not resorting to torture at that point? The lives of _millions_ hang in the balance and despite the possibility of receiving misleading information you know that you must make an effort to avert the situation.

Do you quickly transport the suspects out of range from the blast epicenter and promise them Hellish years of prolonged and unrelenting agony punctuated only by sufficient physical and mental recuperation to allow for more years of prolonged and excruciating torture? Or do you allow millions to perish while you maintain your “moral purity”?

However extreme this scenario may seem, it is a portion of the equation we face with villans on the order of Osama bin Laden and his ilk. We are now confronted with a new breed of psychopath the likes of which we have never seen before. I cannot claim to have all of the answers to this little thought problem but I would ask all who have staked out their moral turf in this thread to provide some sort of cogent reply to this query.

At first blush I agreed wholeheartedly with **Maeglin** ’s initial post to this thread. After **Collounsbury** ’s submission, I am not so sure. I promise to do my best to answer my own question here tomorrow evening and I ask that all of you do so as well.

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### Author: ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2001, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torturing-suspected-terrorists/88846/40 "2001-10-23T06:47:39Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by IzzyR \*  
> [B If the former, I would point out that we are not discussing emulating Nazi Germany or Communist Russia in all aspects - I am only using the experience of those societies to make a point about the **practical efficiency** of torture. The morality of this torture can be discussed on its own merits. \*\*

The kind of societies in which torture was routinely used definitely gives clues about its morality and its merits.

And no, you aren’t discussing emulating these society in all aspects. Only in their worst aspect.

But you’re free to advocate for a regression in civilization, human and civil rights, etc…

By the way, since it’s useful, probably you should advocate also for the use of torture in time of war on ennemy soldiers (they also can know informations who can save many friendly lives), criminals (they certainly know informations about other criminals which could avoid, said a bank robbery and save the live of innocent civilian and cops).

You’re plainly using the logic that permitted torture in the past. There’s an ennemy (terrorist in your case, but he could be a soldier, a patriot, a counter-revolutionnary, a witch, whatever) whose live and rights are worth nothing, and on whom using torture can prevent a major harm for the society/the army/the state/whatever. How could you compare the well-being of a (supposed) terrorist with the many worthy lives (american citizen, waffen SS,…) which could be saved? I’m not sure the word exists in english, but I believed it’s called a process of deshumanization.

Let’s suppose, just for an instant that someone who is allowed to use torture under some new regulation you’re advocating for suspect…say, your son/brother/father to be involved in a terrorist network. Yes…_You_ know that your son/brother/father can’t be a terrorist. But sometimes even close relatives ignore very important elements in the live of their parents. Anyway, what you think doesn’t really matter. What matters is what someone else belonging to some state organization believes.

Under usual circumstances, your son/father/brother would benefit from the usual legal guarantees. But it’s a _terrorism_ case, you know…Many innocent lives could be saved. So, he won’t benefit from anything. He will be tortured. Assuming that he’s actually innocent (but who knows? the opinion of a relative is totally biased and worth nothing), he will probably be released, anyway…if he survives, of course. Well…he’ll probably be in an piteful state, after some weeks/months of torture, and broken for life. But well…the end justified the means. So many innocent lives were at risk. perhaps he’ll even get some sort of pension or indemnification. Perhaps some official apologies. But well…some errors were unavoidable. And we were dealing with _terrorists_…many lives had to be protected.

You’re thinking that I’m fantasying? Think twice. Thrice. How can you be sure that yourself or a relative can’t be suspected by someone, someday, for some reason of knowing something about a terrorist attack? Suspected by someone who has any right on you. What did you stop in this Snack-Bar, this night, Mr Izzyr? Do you know this person who was sitted just by you? Did you ever met him before? Why did you speak to him? What did you tell him? You were speaking about the weather? You believe I’m a naive, Mr Izzyr? Do you know what we can do to people who don’t want to speak, Mr Izzyr?

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