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Pros And Cons Of Psychological Torture

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Each year, the number of terrorist attacks increases all around the world. The number of innocent people dying is terrifying. It seems that nearly every country has experienced the horror of having a terrorist attack. At such incidents, information plays a critical role. If security agencies had prior knowledge of these lethal attacks, hundreds of innocent lives could be spared. As a result, security agencies worldwide are employing methods they hope will reduce the number of such attacks. These methods give rise to an important question; if a terror suspect with potential information of a terrorist attack gets arrested. Would it be ethical to use torture, to get information from him? The use of torture is an unethical and inefficient method of gathering information.
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Their harm lasts long after a victim is tortured. This means that the victim will live the rest of his life with a reminder of this brutal experience. On the other hand, psychological torture leaves no physical evidence, but its harm is a lot worse than that of physical torture. Methods of psychological torture include sleep deprivation, exploitation of phobias, and sensory deprivation. “Victims of psychological torture present symptoms associated with anxiety disorders.” (Red Cross Review pp. 9) Such symptoms “cause disruption of the senses and personality.” (Red Cross Review pp. 9) Sleep deprivation, one of the methods used for torture, is when a person is kept awake for several days then brought to be interviewed. This seems illogical, as a person who is sleep deprived or placed under stress might have problems remembering certain events, or might mix up information. So the information gathered from a person who is sleep deprived will not be accurate, this means the waste of resources for security agencies since they will attempt to confirm such information only to find it

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Many have said that they would want nonlethal torture to be used in such cases but “did not want torture to be officially recognized by our legal system.” Similar statements have posited that while “torture might be necessary in a given situation it could never be right.” This approach, that of keeping torture off-the-books, is in direct conflict with the necessity for accountability and transparency in a democracy. A democracy cannot work if the public is kept in the dark. The public must know what is going on in order to approve or disapprove.

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It is very difficult to get dangerous people to talk, so we use dangerous methods to get them to talk. Getting all the information from prisoners, terrorists, gangsters, and mobsters held by the CIA is crucial to saving American lives. After the Boston Marathon bombing one of the suspects escaped from the scene and the other was caught by police, the one that was held by the CIA was tortured until he spoke of his brother’s hideout where police shot and killed the terrorist. Without torture there would still be a terrorist running free on the streets of Boston. In 2011 the CIA

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Although torturing is considered wrong by many people today, I agree with Michael Levin that torture should be an option in certain situations because it could save the lives of American people. Levin says in his article “Torturing a terrorist unconstitutional? Probably. But millions of lives surely outweigh constitutionality (Levin 605).”

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Applebaum has plenty of evidence to back up her claim that physical torture is not effective, and there are many other ways to obtain information. While the fear-encouraging and questioning elements are potent to many who are afraid of terror committed against them, but when the overwhelming sentiment of Levin’s argument is being compared to the logic and ethical points of Applebaum it is clear to see the superiority of her argument. Although Levin would advocate for physical torture in extreme situations, one must expect extreme consequences. Physical torture is rarely effective, violates rights, and damages a whole nation’s credibility. This is why physical torture should not be

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From an article by Lauren Neergaard, titled “Torture can affect the brain, leaving long-term psychological scars,” which is about how a torture report was released on the harsh interrogation program of the C.I.A. A doctor named Vincent lacopino, an adviser to the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights explains how torture affects the brain. It says, “Even a few days of sleep deprivation fog the mind, he noted, while sensory deprivation can lead to hallucinations and other symptoms of psychosis” (PBS). Your emotions can also become amplified, like your anger or sadness, which can then become depression. Sleep deprivation can cause memory problems, which is just one of the many mental effects. Sleep deprivation can cause cognitive impairments like reduced short term memory and fragmented thought processes.

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2016). Using this ethical framework to argue against torture, one needs to consider the violation of the terrorist’s rights. Utilitarians argue that under a scenario where thousands of people are in danger, the well-being of the larger community is more important than neglecting the rights of a single individual (Krauthammer 2005). The simple idea of taking away a person’s autonomy for the sake of others violates rights ethics. To comprehend the violation upon the victim’s rights, it is important to understand how torture feels, “Brian describes his body as having become an object… pain is the central reality; it dominates experience and expression (Wisnewski 2010, 81).”

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In its effort to combat terrorism, the United States produced more terrorists and terrorist sympathizers using enhanced interrogation techniques, straining the relationship with the local Iraqi and Afghanistan populace. Indeed, images of United States soldiers torturing detainees served as a powerful recruitment tool for Sunni jihadists who were able to persuade local nationals to support their crusade. Furthermore, the United States’ use of enhanced interrogation techniques proved to be ineffective as the information collected from interrogations was inadequate to combat the terrorist threat. Based on the available literature regarding the use of United States enhanced interrogation, three recommendations are provided. • Preserve Executive Order 13491 -

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In discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been whether torture is an effective mean to gain information from terrorists. On the one hand, many people would argue that torture is a very effective mean to gain information. On the other hand, there is a large amount of people who contends that torture is not the only means to gain the same information. My own view is that there are better ways to gain information from terrorists other than torturing them. I disagree with torture being an effective mean to gain information because; as recent research has shown it can be ineffective.

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In this article the author asks the question as to whether torture is a viable source in getting information. Since there is other moral ways of getting information. Some of these methods have shown to be more efficient. They also leave the victim’s mind intact. Janoff-Bulman, Ronnie.

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Torture is when an individual or group of individuals cause harm, severe pain on someone while they force the person to speak or do something unwillingly. However, in America, individuals are protected by torture, because of the Bill of Rights. According to Luban, (2007) “Our Bill of Rights forbids cruel and unusual punishment, and that has come to include all forms of corporal punishment except prison and death by methods purr-ported to be painless” (p. 249). Unfortunately, there are many horror stories throughout history that has barbaric and terrible act upon people, because there were people at times who justified torture during certain situations. In such situation as a terrorist attack, an individual may feel that the torture would be justified in order to stop the attack in order to save millions or thousands of lives, may be a justified torture.

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For many years, the US Government has used basic interrogation techniques in order to force information out of prisoners and terrorists. However, after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the US Government initiated what they called “Enhanced Interrogation”. They initiated this process with the goal in mind to get more information out of terrorists or potential terrorists for the prevention of future attacks. No matter how controversial the methods, the CIA’s new methods may have good intentions, but proved ineffective when it mattered most. One method of interrogation used that most people are familiar with is a technique called “waterboarding”.

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There are several reasons why people will try to get information from you. There are also several ways to do so, including the use of torture. Ultimately, it is up to the military and government on how we should perceive it and how far torturing should go. Because terrorism has changed the world of war, everyone should have an understanding of how torturing terrorists help the military discover future threats and how it keeps the United States as safe as possible. Terrorism has changed the world of war so much.

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However, there have been many controversies and negative aspects of psychologists involved in the torture process, including: Breach of trust and rule breaking, skewed perceptions of torture, unfair pressure placed on psychologists, and psychologists

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1754 Words | 8 Pages

INTRODUCTION Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus is an English novel written by Mary Shelley and published in 1818. It is currently considered as one of the greatest classics of Western literature, a masterpiece which is rich in both character portrayal and historical description. Among other things, this novel tries to give answers to several philosophic question that have tormented the human beings since the beginning. The main character, Victor Frankenstein creates a well-known monster that is actually the embodiment of chaos and confusion; the final result of a behaviour morally reprehensible.

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Torture is universally prohibited in both national and International law worldwide. It is a fundamental violation of human rights that cannot be derogated from. Essentially, torture is said to constitute any physical and mental act by which severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted upon a person ( UNCAT).Torture is mainly used for purposes that are set out to degraded, embarrass, and induce destruction in the person being subjected to torture and those in close relation to the person being tortured .Torture is a mechanism used by those in authoritative positions to preserve themselves in power (Power, 2006:2). Despite the universal prohibition on torture, its use has been widespread throughout history, and especially of late in the wake of September 11 2001 and other recent terrorist atrocities to combat the aforementioned heinous terrorist attacks.

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