The Pros And Cons Of Torturing

September 11, 2001 was a historic day in America that changed America’s view on terrorism forever. Because of the 9-11 attacks, government and military officials have seriously taken account for any future terrorist attacks that could cause great harm to the citizens of the United States. In order to protect the nation, government and military officials would use any type of resources, including the use of torture, to obtain information that could possibly stop potential terrorist attacks. On one hand, many would say that torture is unethical and should never be practiced for any reason including to get information. While on the other hand, some would say that torturing foreign prisoners for information could be beneficial in saving many American

However, some torturing methods can alter the prisoner’s memory which exhibits their information to be unreliable. Torturing methods such as “stress positions and sleep deprivation[,]” can put a constant strain on a prisoner’s mind (The Economist). When a prisoner has been sleep deprived for long periods of time, the prisoner will start to have headaches and even have hallucinations. According to the article, “Does torture work[,]” written by Martin Robbins, “one way to make a [prisoner’s] memory even less reliable is to deprive them of sleep” (“Does torture...”). Generally, the memory of an average person can not remember every, single piece of data that a person receives everyday. For instance a foreign prisoner, who has been through sleep deprivation, can easily give out false details because he probably does not remember the accurate information. Torturing methods that could negatively effect a prisoner’s memory will produce irrelevant and untrustworthy

In times of war or any potential war, information can be helpful and dangerous. For example, extracting information from an enemy could possibly saved the lives of millions, but it can also deceive people into a false sense of security while the real threat is just waiting to be unleashed. In the “ticking-bomb case[,]” as discussed in Sam Harris’ blog, “In Defense of Torture[,]” torture could be used to get information from a foreign prisoner in regards to prevent a potential terrorist attack from happening (“In Defense...”). The issue on torture is like an ever tipping scale that leans to the positive and negative aspects when dealing with potentially vital information. Many critics question the effectiveness of torture in regards to getting information from captured terrorists. The Economist states in his article that “[the] answer [to the question based on] international law is... no” (“Is torture...”). However, Harris argues “that torture [can] be an ethical necessity” for which the prisoner’s information could be factual evidence (“In Defense...”). The issue of torturing foreign prisoners has challenged many Americans on an moral and political standpoint. However, torturing foreign prisoners is not a guaranteed method in obtaining reliable