Terrorism And Torture Analysis

The article of “Terrorism and Torture” by MSNBC gives a description of a poll that gives the opinion of different countries on the topic of terrorist torture. The opinion of countries like the United States, Mexico and Canada on this topic are divided between allowing torture to be used as a method and not allowing it to be used. In other countries, like Britain, France and South Korea they approve of using torture in rare occasions. While countries like Spain and Italy oppose using torture under any means of circumstances. In my opinion, the method of using torture on a person to save many people from harm especially in rare occasions should be allowed. I will now describe how Stephen Nathanson and Alan M. Dershowitz would react to this poll.

He stated, “Pain is a lesser and more remediable harm than death; and the lives of a thousand innocent people should be valued more than the bodily integrity of one guilty person.” (585) With this statement Dershowitz approves of torturing a person to seek important information that could save many people from harm. Even though, in some cases this should be used as a last resort and in some cases it may even not work. As he stated, “It is not absolutely certain torture will work, but it is out last, best hope” which he admits to trying torture to save people from harm. (589) The circumstances that would justify torturing a person would be in case of bombings, hijacking planes and mass kidnappings would be considered important circumstances to allow the torture of a

As stated by Dershowitz, “Under a simple-minded quantitative case utilitarianism, anything goes as long as the number of people tortured or killed does not exceed the number that would be saved.” (586) A Kantian theorist would argue against torturing suspected terrorists because not in all cases of suspected terrorist will be tortured. The Kant theory implies for the same thing to be done in all circumstances for it to be a universal law. For example, if people committed a crime they would be forced into jail, but that’s not the case some people are released by paying bail bond. As explained by Dershowitz in the case of the detention of Japanese-American citizens. They were not tortured openly, but in secret which as a Kantian theorist would argue that torture should have been done openly not only in secret. Dershowitz describes, “The detentions were done openly and with presidential accountability; torture would be done secretly, with official deniability.” (593) As Dershowitz statement determines that it does not abide by the Kant rule that in all circumstances the torture is