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Is Torture Ever Justified?

Madelein Navarro

Philosophy
Mr. Atwell
January 15, 2014

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Is torture in any form ever justified to gain information for a specific cause? Even if that cause is for good or for bad intentions? Many would state that torture is justified as a last resort or others deem it as inhumane. Torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession.1 Torture has the negative effect of dehumanizing a civilization individual but on the other hand torture can be useful in getting information out of hostage taking criminals.
Beatings and physical violence, blinding with light, bone breaking, branding, castration, glasgow smile, and chinese water torture are just the few ways that someone can be tortured.
Guantanamo Bay detention camp is an example in which torture was used ranging from sexual assault/humiliation, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, solitary confinement/isolation, forced medication, temperature extremes, watching others being tortured and psychological techniques.
Many of the interrogators were trained by Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) or had experience in the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA). SERE was a program to train military personnel who have been caught as prisoners of war to withstand torture during interrogation. Military personnel went through programs of beatings, starvation, stress positions, and so. The SERE program was established after years of experimentation by the CIA and the other four branches of the U.S. military. It was founded during the Cold War when 36 US air men gave false confessions during the Korean War.2 President Obama on his second day signed an executive order to close Guantanamo. He also signed an executive order outlawing aggressive interrogation techniques. So as a country we will no longer perform torture to
"Defining torture." What is torture? ­. http://www.irct.org/what­is­torture/defining­torture.aspx
"Torture Techniques Used in Guantanamo." The Justice Campaign Supporting Human Rights
Transparency and Fairness for David Hicks..http://thejusticeca mpaign.org/?page_id=273.
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prisoners but still continue to do so as a last resort. An example of the usage of last resort was the waterboarding ( waterboarding induces panic and suffering by forcing a person to inhale water into the sinuses, pharynx, larynx, and trachea3) that we used in the bin Laden case. It began with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who broke under the pressure of harsh interrogation techniques that included waterboarding. He gave information including name of a trusted courier of bin Laden.
As Obama stated that they would no longer continue to use torture, unfortunately in
August 2014 the C.I.A was using wrongful interrogation forms for terrorism suspects after 9/11.
The C.I.A also mislead the Bush administration officials and Congress about the extent and nature of the torture, and that torture was ineffective for intelligence gathering. The President allowed the use of torture for the C.I.A and is allowing people such as, George Tenet the
Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, to go ahead and protest what he signed to be prohibited. As this report became worldwide issue from multiple countries gave their opinions on the situation that the US has applied to torture. One of the countries that replied were China: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters Wednesday: "China consistently opposes torture. We believe that the U.S. side should reflect upon and rectify its relevant behavior, earnestly obey and implement the provisions of international conventions. In a
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