what is torture
 

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Recent reports on the American ABC News network, quoting CIA sources, listed six so-called "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques."


1. Grab: the interrogator grabs a suspect's shirt front and shakes him.


2. Slap: an open-handed slap to produce fear and some pain.

3. Belly Slap: a hard slap to the stomach with an open hand. This is designed to be painful but not to cause injury. A punch is said to have been ruled out by doctors.


4. Standing: Prisoners stand for 40 hours and more, shackled to the floor. Said to be effective, it also denies them sleep and is part of a process known as sensory deprivation ( this was a technique used by British forces in Northern Ireland for a time until it was stopped).

5. Cold Cell: a prisoner is made to stand naked in a cold, though not freezing, cell and doused with water.

6. Water Boarding: the prisoner is bound to a board with feet raised, and cellophane wrapped round his head. Water is poured onto his face and is said to produce a fear of drowning which leads to a rapid demand for the suffering to end.


[/ QUOTE ] apparently, this is how we role. Thoughts? I think the issue of "tourture" is very complicated. On the one hand, it may be neccesary to save lives. on the other, it takes away our ability to play the moral high card, and it often elicits false statement, which lead to faulty intelligence. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4499528.stm this is a link to the whole article.

Re: what is torture
 

I tend to think that if a foreign country did any of these things to our soldiers/POWs we would call it torture. If we did it to their soldiers we would call it, well, we call it "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Re: what is torture
 

Screw the moral high card, who cares?

Re: what is torture
 

The government wants to make our citizens comfortable with the fact that we brutally torture brown people who are often innocent. It destroys lives, families and makes it more likely that the US will suffer another terror attack.

Re: what is torture
 

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I tend to think that if a foreign country did any of these things to our soldiers/POWs we would call it torture.

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OTOH, what enemy have we fought in the last hundred years that we did not expect such techniques from?

Re: what is torture
 

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OTOH, what enemy have we fought in the last hundred years that we did not expect such techniques from?

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Germany. Watch "the great escape".

Re: what is torture
 

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I tend to think that if a foreign country did any of these things to our soldiers/POWs we would call it torture.

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OTOH, what enemy have we fought in the last hundred years that we did not expect such techniques from?

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I'm guessing by the tone of your question, that you're expecting the answer to be "none," and then you counter by saying "well, torture is an accepted practice for others, why shouldn't it be for us?"

I would say that it's because we've spent the last 4 years in a war to depose a tyrant because he used torture on his own people. I think we would do well to take the moral high ground here.

If, of course, my original assumption was wrong, I'm sorry.

Re: what is torture
 

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I'm guessing by the tone of your question, that you're expecting the answer to be "none," and then you counter by saying "well, torture is an accepted practice for others, why shouldn't it be for us?"

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Actually, I'm on the fence regarding torture and leaning towards the "no" side. Just an observation of the disadvantage we put ourselves at by outright banning it.

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I would say that it's because we've spent the last 4 years in a war to depose a tyrant because he used torture on his own people.

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Careful. You're deviating from the "phony war for oil" mantra when you make such statements... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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I think we would do well to take the moral high ground here.

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This is one of the main reasons for my leaning towards no torture.

Re: what is torture
 

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I would say that it's because we've spent the last 4 years in a war to depose a tyrant because he used torture on his own people.

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Careful. You're deviating from the "phony war for oil" mantra when you make such statements...;)

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Sorry, I meant to say "Started under the false pretenses of deposing a tyrant..."

I keep getting confused over whether or not we went in there because of Al-Qaeda, or WMD, or torture. It just seems like it changes every day, how is a boy to keep track?

Re: what is torture
 

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I keep getting confused over whether or not we went in there because of Al-Qaeda, or WMD, or torture. It just seems like it changes every day, how is a boy to keep track?

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Can there be more than a single reason for war? Perhaps the reason that it appears to be "switching" to you is because all of those were reasons given? Try to keep up.