From the Editor

Should the United States have a policy where torture is forbidden in any situation? In a “ticking time bomb” situation, where the mastermind is in custody, and thousands of lives are at stake, is it permissible to engage in torture? These questions have been debated by legal scholars, academics, and students currently enrolled in the UGA Speech Communication class “The Rhetoric of Torture.” Some legal scholars, like Alan Dershowitz, have argued that, like it or not, torture is happening. This being the case, it should be dragged out of the shadows and into judicial light and accountability through torture warrants. Other noted scholars, like Slavoj Zizek, have warned that normalizing torture through codification contributes to a collective desensitization process. Some have argued, purely on the basis of practicality, that information gained under torture is notoriously unreliable, so we shouldn’t do it. This is an unsatisfactory argument to us. It is tantamount to saying that if we could make torture reliable there would be no compelling reason not to do it.

There are no clear answers to these questions, and we offer them up for discussion to our readers. Are there convincing reasons to have a policy where torture is NEVER allowed, even if it would yield results, and even in a ticking time bomb scenario?

"Abu Ghraib Interrogator Speaks"

Amnesty Video

It's not only our government and military that are responsible for torture, but all of us.

Check out this video clip from Amnesty International to find out more...

http://www.amnestyusa.org/stoptorture/renditions/index.html

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Confessions and Torture

In March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed testified before a closed-door hearing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to transcripts of the hearing released by the Pentagon, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z." The transcripts also show Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessing to organizing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Bali nightclub bombings and the attempted Richard Reid shoe bombing, as well as planned attacks on Heathrow Airport and Big Ben clock tower in London, the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and planned assassination attempts on Pope John Paul II, Pervez Musharraf and Bill Clinton. (source: Wikipedia)

However, the confession of Mohammed is called into question due to the interrogation techniques used to attain the confession. While Katherine Shrader, Associated Press Writer, concludes her article on Mohammed's confession:

The CIA has denied it uses torture. "The agency's terrorist interrogation program has been conducted lawfully, with great care and close review, producing vital information that has helped disrupt plots and save lives," spokesman Paul Gimigliano said.

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito of ABC News offer the counter evidence:

The CIA sources described a list of six "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" instituted in mid-March 2002 and used, they said, on a dozen top al Qaeda targets incarcerated in isolation at secret locations on military bases in regions from Asia to Eastern Europe. According to the sources, only a handful of CIA interrogators are trained and authorized to use the techniques:

1. The Attention Grab: The interrogator forcefully grabs the shirt front of the prisoner and shakes him.

2. Attention Slap: An open-handed slap aimed at causing pain and triggering fear.

3. The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the stomach. The aim is to cause pain, but not internal injury. Doctors consulted advised against using a punch, which could cause lasting internal damage.

4. Long Time Standing: This technique is described as among the most effective. Prisoners are forced to stand, handcuffed and with their feet shackled to an eye bolt in the floor for more than 40 hours. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation are effective in yielding confessions.

5. The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees. Throughout the time in the cell the prisoner is doused with cold water.

6. Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.

According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess.

It is "bad interrogation. I mean you can get anyone to confess to anything if the torture's bad enough," said former CIA officer Bob Baer.

Paul Craig Roberts:

...I remember speaking years ago with Soviet dissident Valdimir Bukovsky about the behavior of Soviet dissidents under torture. He replied that people pressed for names under torture would try to remember the names of war dead and people who had passed away. Those who retained enough of their wits under torture would confess to an unbelievable array of crimes in an effort to alert the public to the falsity of the entire process...

...Mohammed's confession admits to 31 planned and actual attacks all over the world, including blowing up the Panama Canal and assassinating presidents Carter and Clinton and the Pope. Having taken responsibility for the whole ball of wax along with everything else that he could imagine, he was the entire show. No other terrorists needed.