The term “Torture” derives from the Latin word “tortus” meaning “twisted. Torture involves the intentional infliction of physical or mental pain on a person to fulfill some desire of the perpetrator or to compel some action from the victim. The following are some general definitions of torture. 1. Torture is the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.…
Anne Applebaum states in “The Torture Myth”, that America has operated under the false pretense that torture is a viable option for obtaining information, and because terrorists are malicious, so America needs more aggression to win. She argues that torture hurts the country more than it benefits. Torture…
The government is known to do controversial actions when it comes to interrogation. The most controversial tactic is torture treatment. Torture treatment has always been around, but there have always been issues with it. The main issue is, is it constitutional? The eighth amendment states that no one is subject to cruel and unusual punishment.…
Abu Ghraib held one of the most notorious prisons whereby executions, torture and appalling living conditions existed. Abu Ghraib became a U.S. military prison for criminals after its original regime collapsed. To much concern, after America had taken over this prison and replaced all of its inmates, Major General Antonio M. Tuguba found that there were numerous cases of abuse at Abu Ghraib. These illegal instances of abuse were actioned by members of the American intelligence community (Hersh, 2004). This displays that the Americans level of authority over those in Abu Ghraib may have been due trying to conform to their role of power.…
“My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail,” stated President George W. Bush on March 19, 2003 when he justified the United States’ need to invade Iraq (Khan 64). Within the borders of Iraq, US soldiers dehumanized Iraqi citizens by torturing them in a prison known as Abu Ghraib and photographed themselves doing so.…
Up to this point in time,we will always recall on of the most treacherous of events that,we've all come to know as 9/11.During this attack against our people ,two planes were hijacked and crashed intentionally,into the world trade center towers and,a third plane was hijacked but,thanks to the valiant passengers on board,did not reach it's destination instead,led to many tragic but gallant deaths. The U.S. responds by seeking means for the invasion of Iraq which,could cost the worldwide peace many have hoped for,away. On the other hand, much speculation from the general public arises,some from grieving individuals,who,beg for re-consideration because revenge as the price for their lost loved ones isn't a consolation. Americans question the government's…
At the same time the opponents of these methods were convinced that one individual could not be an organizer of so many terrorist plots and revealed their skepticism in relation to his claims. They stated that taking into consideration the types of tortures, which could be applied to an individual, there is never a guarantee that his confessions are true to life and were not made purely with the aim to stop tortures and remain alive. This argument makes everybody doubt as for effectiveness of tortures. “For instance, a torture victim deprived of his clothes will feel so “ashamed and humiliated and cold,” said retired FBI counterterrorism agent Dan Coleman, “he 'll tell you anything you want to hear to get his clothing back. There 's no value in it.”…
On September 11,2001 the terrorist came into the United States and attacked the twin towers and the world trade center and it killed a lot of people so the us gave Saudi Arabia demands and if those requirement wasn’t met we were going to invade them and those requirements weren’t met so we came and invaded them. But the newspaper criticized our response about the 9/11 attacks and published it and made us look bad when the response wasn’t even so bad. After the 9/11 attacks the United States signed a one year contract for the three sections of the u.s patriot act without any new limits, and that act gave the government permission from a special court to obtain roving wiretaps over multiple communication. And last year president Obama banned water boarding with I am stating that it is torture which it is because u can’t drown anybody.…
Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror Habeas corpus is a way of determining whether those that are jailed have been jailed through the legal processes and if the reason behind the jailing is legal. This paper will discuss how the administration led by Bush kept prisoners at GITMO during the war on terror. The civil rights of the prisoners were never considered since the place where they were kept was beyond the reach of the constitution of the United States of America. It was the duty of the Supreme Court to protect the rights of the prisoners by the use of Habeas Corpus and given orders of the shutting down of GITMO facility. Habeas Corpus in English Traditions…
The program of enhanced interrogation was approved under the Bush administration in 2002 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. During the time of these series of attacks on the United States, the country was sent into a frenzy about the security of the country as as well as trying to find out why this had happened. When the CIA proposed the idea of enhanced interrogation, the idea was presented in such a way that it was shown that enhanced interrogation was not harmful in the long run and could provide information that was “unique”, “otherwise unavailable” and “largely responsible for preventing a subsequent attack within the United States” as stated MEMORANDUM FOR JOHN A. RIZZO SENIOR DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE. The CIA had misled the White House in what some of the techniques they were using behind closed doors. Even though the CIA included waterboarding as one of the techniques in the US Army Field Manual on Interrogation.…
Over the past few years, the word “Guantanamo or Gitmo” has come to embody far more than the Cuban bay that lent its name to one of oldest military prison bases more than a century ago; it has joined our 21st century dictionary as a term emblematic of mishandling, deceived, and disregard for the rules of military and civilian law. In rare agreement, there were only two U.S. Presidents that have acknowledged the benefit of terminating operations at its detention facility, but both have tried and failed to close Gitmo. Thus far, attempts to close the facility have not only failed; they have arguably undermined their own ends by releasing belligerents back to the fight and prolonging the conflict.…
Responsibility for prisoner abuse in Iraq continues to bring down the military. Maintaining Presidential Deniability is a big thing. The CIA offers to take the blame on things. President Bush proclaimed that he would never condone torture because “the values of this country are such that torture is not part of our soul and our being.” Sixty-three percent say that torture is not acceptable, while the other 37 percent say yes.…
The constitution in America gives to the Congress the important power of impeachment of high-level federal officials, including the President of the United States. “Without a doubt, impeachment of a sitting president is one of the most serious acts the Congress can undertake.” (Dr. Routh Fall-2015.) Many believe a call for the President of the United States George W. Bush to be Impeached, much less prosecuted criminally, along with Vice President Dick Cheney, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) George Tenet, then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, because they flagrantly disregard the constitution of the United States and the rule of law..…
Levin’s hypothetical leads to the illogical “A Case For Torture” is an essay written by Michael Levin in which he tries to make a compelling case for the use of torture as a punishment during certain situations in the United States. One of the ways Levin tries to logically prove his argument is by citing different real life situations; some examples are situations that actually occurred, but most are hypothetical situations. The use of hypothetical situations is meant to help direct the reader to understand the applications of Levin’s policy on torture. With that, Levin is not convincing in his argument as he relies too heavily on the hypothetical. Michael Levin in “A Case For Torture” is not logically convincing in his discussion as to why…
Since the article “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin was published in Newsweek in 1982, it has stirred up many debates regarding the universal use of torture. Levin believes that torture is justifiable in extreme cases such as preventing terrorism to save lives. Levin argues by giving examples of make-believe scenarios in which the only two options given are to either meet the demands of the terrorist or to torture the terrorist so that innocent lives can be spared; however, Levin’s argument is flawed because he never fully defines the boundaries which can be placed on the concept of torture that would ensure that the use of torture is not abused. He believes that the best way to address a problem in which one wants an immediate result…