Torture Notes

Is torture effective and ethical?
more specifically: Should waterboarding be used by the U.S.?



Hitchens, Christopher. "Believe Me, It's Torture." SIRS. 2008. 7 Dec 2008 http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-6805&artno=0000283287&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Believe%20Me%2C%20It%27s%20Torture&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=N.



Christopher Hitchens experienced waterboarding firsthand to judge whether or not it is really torture. This is the definition of the torture from the contract he signed:



' "Water boarding" is a potentially dangerous activity in which the participant can receive serious and permanent (physical, emotional and psychological) injuries and even death, including injuries and death due to the respiratory and neurological systems of the body. '

Hitchens admits that this form of torture is not nearly as bad as others, so it is not like the U.S. is as bad as Al-Quaeda or anything. Hitchens believes that waterboarding is torture and we should not use it, as it can easily lead to enemies using torture against our troops. Though torture is used to get information, it doesn't get all true information. A CIA report of a terror suspect stated that the information they recieved from torture was "not all of it reliable." Last, Hitchens believes that waterboarding is opening a gateway for harsher techniques.

Miller, Greg. "Waterboarding Is Still an Option." SIRS. 2008. 7 Dec 2008 .

Greg Miller reports how waterboarding was confirmed to be legal by the White House. He states that the tactic was only used on 9/11 suspects. He defines waterboarding and its origin:

"Waterboarding refers to a practice that involves strapping down a prisoner, placing a cloth over his face and dousing him with water to simulate the sensation of drowning. The technique has been traced to the Spanish Inquisition and has been the subject of war-crimes trials dating back a century."

Miller says Republicans are divided on the issue. McCain has been trying to outlaw it, though, saying it violates the Geneva Convention. CIA Director Michael Hayden says not letting the CIA used such techniques will endanger Americans. An anonymous official thinks waterboarding should not be considered torture. In order to train American troops in case of capture, waterboarding methods are used on them. The officer says waterboarding doesn't affect people intellectualy like other forms of torture. If that was not the case they wouldn't have used the method.