Should the U.S.
Government allow torture be used as a counter-terrorist strategy?
Although there
have been many discussions about the use of torture when it comes to preventing
another terrorist attack, one of the questions that some people still ask today
is, should torture be allowed to be used as a counter-terrorist strategy by the
US Government? This question, to me, really seems to challenge the integrity of
the government because it appears that the government had broken its own rules when
they had given permission for some of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere
to be water-boarded. The water-boarding story is known to be true because, according
to Banks (2013), “media reports indicate that in April 2003, some 20 methods
involving physical and psychological stress were approved by the Justice Department
and the Pentagon for use at Guantanamo Bay prison” (p. 235). Since there were
twenty methods of physical and psychological stress techniques approved to be
used on the detainees, it is probably fair to say that the water-boarding,
which is a form of torture, was one of the approved methods.
When the word was out that some of the
detainees were being water-boarded there were some people who believed and
still believe that this form of torture was justified and that the government had
done the right thing. In other words, they did not see anything wrong with this
form torture being used as a counter-terrorist strategy. One of the reasons for their
belief is because, in their minds, these detainees were terrorists and we
needed to get as much information from them as possible to catch the other
terrorists who were not caught. Well, even though I also want to see all of these
caught and put away behind bars for life, I don’t believe what we can get that
accomplished by torturing those who were being detained; in addition, I don’t
believe that torturing should be used as counter-terrorist strategy.
First of all, “Torture is a federal crime…; and, this law
applies to torture committed outside the United States but includes acts by
U.S. citizens” (Banks, 2013, p. 234). This means that we will be breaking the
law when we torture someone else. Furthermore, according to Banks (2013), torture
is intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain, and suffering (p. 234).
With that said, it is important to point out that the those people who were
tortured are human beings, and I don’t think that anyone deserves to be treated less than other human
beings.
Reference
Banks, C. (2013). Criminal Justice Ethics: Theory and
Practice (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE
Publications.
