Torture and Interrogation
U.S actions in foreign countries
Thesis
Even though it is against human rights laws that are universal and given to everyone just for being human, I believe that torture in interrogations is helpful when it is needed to be used but it only should be used in necessary precautions against foreign countries because Governments of countries all over the world are using these techniques in their apprehension of their enemies. Also because it has worked for years and has proven to have been a valid method of extracting information.
Background
The big controversy is whether it should be used against terrorist all over the world and how far is too much. Torture techniques are usually used to gather information or protect information from spreading. ”The war on terrorism has sparked a new debate in the United States over the use of torture to extract information needed to protect public safety”. (Masci, David) Interrogation through torture violates serveral human rights and war on crime policies internationally stated. ”A decade after the invasion of Iraq, the US government clearly does not consider full accountability for war crimes and human rights violations committed by US forces in Iraq and elsewhere to be a legal requirement”. (USA: 'Judge Us by Our Actions') Everyone is entitled to human rights just for being a human according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights document. The 5th policy states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights) The 9th policy states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”. (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights) “Governments all around the world – from Sri Lanka to Russia; from India to Saudi Arabia – use the threat of terrorism to undermine human rights, often through torturing people, holding them without charge or trial, and making them ‘disappear’. (Campaigns | Amnesty International) Also among these governments includes the U.S as well.
Don't Sweat the Technique
More than 100 countries on five continents allegedly practice torture, according to Amnesty International and the U.S State Department. (Masci, David) Although, the main country I will focus on will be the U.S. Although, other countries that torture are in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. “Torture is less prevalent in Europe and North and South America, but not absent”. (Masci, David) “There exist many painful physical techniques of interrogation or control that leave few marks. I call these clean techniques in contrast to scarring techniques of torture. Clean techniques are not psychological techniques. Clean techniques are physical tortures. The vast majority of clean techniques are not technologically sophisticated”. (Rejali, Darius M) There are many forms of torture that are used for interrogation and because every country has different laws, those methods vary throughout the world. Other methods are using electric cables to shock the captive, hanging upside down by their feet, humiliation, public nakedness, beatings, prolonged periods of exposure, and many more. We should care because this is not only an issue in other countries but in ours as well. Also, we should be concerned about the consequences of interrogation in other countries because of war purposes. We need to know what precautions to take in the event that one of our soldiers were captured and held captive. “Many Democratic governments have used — and still use — torture”. ("The Methods List for Interrogation.") The global relevance is the same as the local relevance just in different countries. Not one continent was said to have a country that did not participate in torture in the interrogation process. (Ahsan, Saleyha) The world should also care because it violates people’s human rights and some people even push torture too far. No one wants their soldiers to become captives and become tortured but it does happen, and if it does, we should be concern about what will happen to these people. If we allow it to happen to our soldiers, it could possible happen to our civilians as well.
IGO
It is important that the issue be addressed to make sure that everyone’s rights is recognized and respected no matter who they are. There are other forms of interrogation that can and should be used in order to gather information from an enemy. (Torment, Torture and Terror) Repercussions could be a war which would disturb ordinary life, the economy, and even trading. This issue could have a domino effect and it should be stopped immediately. IGO’s haven’t done much to fix the problem because most of them agree with polices of the interrogation techniques. (William Ranney Levi) Some of them are responsible for the techniques of interrogation. They do not look at this issue as an issue; they look at it as necessary precautions.
NGO
The NGO’s do not necessarily agree with the methods that people use for interrogation, but they are not doing anything to stop it. (Ahsan, Saleyha) They feel like sometimes it is necessary to take those precautions when dealing with enemies who obtain knowledge that they seek. For protection of themselves, they won’t openly admit their participation in these antics but their lack of rebellion against the issue says it all, especially foreign countries. Honestly, no actions really need to be taken because this method is a successful one. Yes, it may go against the law to a certain extent but it has proven to be a valid approach even going back from before WWI. (Rejali, Darius M) I do not see a change in these measures happening any time soon. Anyone who feels strongly about the issue can protest against it but I highly doubt that anything will change because of it. Many things that are being done, average people don’t even know about because when it happens, it is usually by some form of government or military and actions such as torture against enemies are usually kept classified. (Amnesty International)
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