TORTURE A COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUE

Torture Should Be a Legitimate Counter-Intelligence Technique

Torture should be a legitimate counter-intelligence technique

Introduction

The world was forever changed on September 11th, 2011. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that took place that day, American society was forced to question its values and priorities. No issue related to 9/11 has been more debated than the detainment and torture of suspected terrorists. Torture has always been illegal. However the attacks of 9/11 became the occasion for some to redefine torture. Their goal was to find a gray area that would allow for advanced interrogation techniques—so called “torture-lite”—to be used against detainees and suspected terrorists. Their legal and moral justification for these practices was the imminent threat of another attack and the need to protect American interests and lives. A renewed ethics of torture—and prohibition of it—is essential now to ensure that human rights and legal rights are upheld, even in the wake of past and future terrorist attacks. The accepted legal definition of torture is the intentional infliction of physical pain or harm on another human being while in the custody of a person possessing some authority over them. The element of custody and authority is what separates torture from everyday assault and battery. The English definition of torture is the intentional infliction of pain as a form of punishment or to force someone to do or say something. The legal definition refers to torture performed in an official capacity while the English definition makes torture sound more personal (Torture). The Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs (1992) demonstrates the difference between the legal and English definition of torture. The character Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) uses a razor blade to cut the face of a police officer and eventually goes so far as to cut off his ear. Mr. Blonde's character is a common criminal and possesses no authority, therefore, based on the legal definition of torture Mr. Blonde's attack on the police officer is considered battery, not torture. However, the English definition of torture would fit this scenario because the infliction of pain is intentional and was punishment for the police officer simply being a police officer. In contrast, in the second season of television show The Shield, Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) burns the face of a criminal suspect on a stove burner while in his custody. Because a detective possesses legal authority and the suspect was in his custody, his attack on a criminal is torture, even if he was not instructed to perform the act by a superior. Therefore, both the English definition and the legal definition of torture would apply to the scenario in The Shield.

Discussion and Analysis

The question of how to build a just society has found a variety of responses. Consequently, we have developed a set of theories that attempt to explain how the criteria supported by some and others take shape in the performance and behavior of the basic structure of the society.

Needless to say, speaking of the income distribution we refer ...