Former CIA agent, Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr. dedicated the majority of his life (thirty-one years) to serving the United States of America. Before becoming a member of the CIA 's Counterterrorism Center (CTC), he spent twenty-five years working undercover, later becoming the chief of the Directorate of Operations ' Latin American Division. After the horrific events of September 11th, Rodriguez was more than happy to become a part of the CIA 's CTC. In his book Hard Measures, Rodriguez attempts to defend the CIA 's actions and treatment of detainees suspected to have had involvement in the 9/11 events and of planning future attacks on the United States and its citizens. The remainder of this paper will express my personal thoughts and opinions
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The first problem is that it does not satisfy Kant’s first version of a categorical imperative, the Principle of Universality, which states that one should always act as if their actions will become universal law. People would not appreciate other countries using those techniques on United States’ citizens. In fact, there have been situations of a similar nature in which Americans spoke negatively on the treatment of their fellow citizens. The second problem is that the chosen course of action does not satisfy Kant’s second version, Respect For All Persons, either. This version states that human beings are required to treat other humans with respect because they are rational humans just like us who have an intrinsic worth that other animals do not. According to Kant, we should also never use humans a “means to an end” or passage to getting what we really want. This is exactly what the CIA did to the detainees. They disrespected the human dignity of the detainee and also used them just to get information. To me, this is a situation that really did not have a “right” choice and presented conflicting duties. The CIA had to choose between stripping the detainees of all control leaving them hopeless and desperate or to let the detainees keep giving them the run around and not preventing the possible deaths of innocent people. The Agency had to choose the course of action that would bring about the most positive outcomes and help them with their duty of serving the American people. I also agree that their decisions were better than what the Obama administration chose to do which was “take no prisoners” approach. In this approach, Hellfire missiles are fired into a group of suspects around a campfire. There is precaution taken to try to ensure there is no collateral damage, however there were times when innocents were killed. There have also been occasions when
The first problem is that it does not satisfy Kant’s first version of a categorical imperative, the Principle of Universality, which states that one should always act as if their actions will become universal law. People would not appreciate other countries using those techniques on United States’ citizens. In fact, there have been situations of a similar nature in which Americans spoke negatively on the treatment of their fellow citizens. The second problem is that the chosen course of action does not satisfy Kant’s second version, Respect For All Persons, either. This version states that human beings are required to treat other humans with respect because they are rational humans just like us who have an intrinsic worth that other animals do not. According to Kant, we should also never use humans a “means to an end” or passage to getting what we really want. This is exactly what the CIA did to the detainees. They disrespected the human dignity of the detainee and also used them just to get information. To me, this is a situation that really did not have a “right” choice and presented conflicting duties. The CIA had to choose between stripping the detainees of all control leaving them hopeless and desperate or to let the detainees keep giving them the run around and not preventing the possible deaths of innocent people. The Agency had to choose the course of action that would bring about the most positive outcomes and help them with their duty of serving the American people. I also agree that their decisions were better than what the Obama administration chose to do which was “take no prisoners” approach. In this approach, Hellfire missiles are fired into a group of suspects around a campfire. There is precaution taken to try to ensure there is no collateral damage, however there were times when innocents were killed. There have also been occasions when