How does the killing of Osama bin Laden affect your view of harsh interrogation techniques?
Posted at 5:00 AM on May 5, 2011
by Eric Ringham
(25 Comments)
Filed under: International affairs, Politics/Government, Religion/Ethics, Security
The Bush-era debate over so-called harsh interrogation techniques has flared anew with the death of Osama bin Laden. Both critics and defenders of methods like waterboarding claim that the successful effort to find Bin Laden vindicates their point of view. Today's Question: How does the killing of Osama bin Laden affect your view of harsh interrogation techniques?
Comments (25)
Being that 'harsh interrogation' was made illegal a few years ago, I think this is a moot question.
What we ought to focus on is making amends with the people who were wronged and also move forward in making the interrogations more effective.
I am a military wife to a deployed soldier, and have done plenty of research on this exact thing. An interrogator needs to be able to 'read' the person he/she is questioning; they ought to use a personal approach (proven to work); and also go into the interrogation without bullying the detainee for information, but recognizes that although this person may very well be a terrorist, this person is also just that. A person. A human. Someone caught up in a methodology that is wrong......
However, I love contradicting myself by stating that I am THRILLED bin Laden is gone (regardless of the tactics used) and believe that terrorism will be declining over these next years.
It's early, I haven't had my tea, therefore I am willingly able to contradict myself and am also willing to be wrong in my thoughts..... maybe ask me again in a couple hours.
Do the ends justify the means?
Torture is heinous and wrong. Why should the death of an evil man change my mind about that?
It is definitely something that I DO NOT want my country to have anything to do with. We are not barbarians, and should not act like them.
ANOTHER big concern: Does no one remember when we saw those people in another country jubulant, and celebrating the fall of the Twin Towers?? What did they look like to us, and how did it make us feel about them?
Please consider this before you are out in the streets partying over the death of Osama Binladin. I can think of no more poigniant way to further alienate those who might eventually be brought around to respect our way of life.
armatures=Amateurs
(Auto Correction failed again)
(Forgot to say since it was not used to get the intelligence it only confirmed my information that Torture is not only ILLEGAL, but counter productive.
It only serves one purpose: Displaced Hateful revenge.)
Since Harsh TORTURE was stopped in 2007, none of the intelligence was of use for this operation.
The Professionals have been in the control since then, kicking the armatures out. Which means faster, accurate, and more co-operative details coming out of the interrogation interviews.
Its clear none of it was part of the 'current' intel used, and those tortured gave up false information that delayed inteligence gathering.
"Senate Intel Chair: Torture Did Not Lead To Bin Laden In Any Way"
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/senate-intel-chair-torture-did-not-lead-to-bin-laden-in-any-way.php?fb_ref=box&fb_source=profile_oneline
This is a lot like asking if you think embezzlement is ethical because you're now rich and didn't get caught.
I have to admit that this chapter in the War On Terror has changed my mind about "harsh interrogation tactics." I now believe that banning any intelligence gathering method without knowing future context and circumstances is shortsighted. Having said that, I believe a system of oversight should be implemented -- perhaps a tribunal or a group of magistrates who must approve the interrogation technique after balancing the need for certain information against respect for universal human rights, which would be similar to the process used for securing a search warrant upon showing of probable cause. Skeptics may dismiss this idea as unduly burdensome and bureaucratic. However, those familiar with the search warrant application process know that it is a fast and efficient way for law enforcement officials to conduct searches and seizures in a lawful manner. In the case of suspected terrorists who are thought to possess valuable information, interrogators would have to apply for authorization to conduct the process upon a showing of either probable cause or mere reasonable suspicion that the subject has valuable information but is unwilling to disclose it in a cooperative manner.
Nope.
Those methods didn't work before, they don't work know.
We're smarter than that, but don't seem to want to evolve.
Humane life and the value of money has become so cheap. I blame all of you, but I promise to forgive you when I can get my money back with interest corrected for inflation. Profit on my investments is also expected.
Torture is not effective in getting truthful information. It should not be used.
Torture has always been a mistake, wrong and ineffectual. The death of UBL or anyone else does not change that.
I am opposed to sadism and sadistic practices by sick people who torture. It violates the basic tenants of human rights and dignity not to mention Christianity and many other world faiths. It fails to produce actionable intelligence and more often produce false and misleading information. Torture makes us no better and probably worse than our enemies.
We are fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and "hawks" are leaning towards Libya. Those were the goals of OBL. To involve America in a war with Islam. The sorry thing is that we reacted in our typical knee jerk fashion. History means nothing to us. Unfortunately politics rule the day...
I don't support harsh methods. I don't think we should use them. Otherwise what separates Us from Them?
Right on, John!
Bin Laden destroyed us with his first attack on 9/11. In a matter of days we became willing to surrender the principles that we have always claimed set us apart from "less moral, less enlightened" peoples. Safety and revenge were our priorities. We acquiesced to the Bush administration's violations of the Bill Of Rights.Torture? well, duh. Of course, if it would make us safer. Invaded Iraq,on false premises, thereby causing the deaths of as many of our own as were killed in the Towers? Yes, we have to protect our freedom...
Bin Laden never needed to lift another finger against. All he had to do was sit in his cave and laugh as we showed the world what we really are.
The knuckleheads that become radical Islamic terrorists are still going to hate our guts and want to kill us whether we harsh interrogation or not.
As long as it is used sparingly and with some discretion, doesn't bother me a bit.
"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine"
- Abraham Lincoln
Long before we got enough info from those "harsh interrogations" to kill bin Laden, our use of torture helped inspire thousands of others to join his cause and undermined our credibility on the world stage. Overall, they did way more harm than good.
None what so ever.
"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Mark Twain
In this news media attempt to justify torture we will find ourselves being the victim.
It took the deaths of millions of people to secure our freedoms in America but it only took the death of 2,752 people on 911 to surrender our rights through the Patriot Act, Homeland Insecurity, TSA, wiretaps, wireless phone taps, internet monitoring, etc.
Now the media is attempting to show Pakistan as a villain country, another justification for war with them and Iran. The dominos for Israel and the price tag.
We are a country deep in debt, we need to stop or we will cease to exist as a country. Then we shall see new forms of torture every day.
Not at all. The question for me is where do we draw the line. I had believed that the United States wouldn't do this. It seems the line has moved from where I thought it was. Does that mean the line has become a moving target, based on how threatened or fearful we feel at a particular time? Does it end here or will there be circumstances in the future when we feel compelled to repeat or even go farther than we have before? What does that say about us and what the United States stands for?
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