The issue of whether or not torture is an effective and appropriate means of extracting information from subjects has been pondered for centuries. More so than ever before, the interrogation tactics used by the CIA after September 11, 2001 have been the subject of intense scrutiny. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the CIA ramped up its efforts to acquire human intelligence information deemed vital to United States national security. The compelling need to acquire information important to national security was not adequately balanced against the need to respect basic human rights. Further, the highly controversial interrogation methods employed on potential suspects linked to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the
…show more content…
Although this tactic dates back to the Spanish Inquisition, the form of waterboarding most widely used today involves choking the victim by filling his or her throat with a steady stream of water so as to simulate the experience of drowning. The use of waterboarding, known variously as "water torture," the "water cure", or “tormenta de toca,” was first documented in the 14th century, according to Ed Peters, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania (Weiner). Around 1800, as the Enlightenment swept across Europe, many countries banned the practice and people began to view waterboarding as "morally repugnant;" nevertheless, President Bush still authorized the use of this contemptible practice approximately 183 times on Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the September 11th attacks, and 83 times on Abu Zubaydah, another prominent al-Qaeda operative. Staunchly unremorseful, Bush went so far as to state that he would "do it again to save lives" while speaking to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Associated Press). In 2010, the Prime Minister of Great Britain voiced opposition to George Bush's claim that waterboarding was a legitimate interrogation method after Bush had attempted to downplay the brutality of the technique and claimed that it had saved British lives (Siddique & McGreal). The British went further, confirming that they share in President Obama's position that waterboarding indeed constitutes torture (Siddique & McGreal). In addition, former Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, who was subjected to torture techniques as a soldier in Vietnam, has long professed that waterboarding is a “horrible torture technique” and a “terrible and odious practice” that “should never be condoned in the United States” (USA Today). With the eyes of the world upon it, it is essential that the United States clearly differentiate its own
Although this tactic dates back to the Spanish Inquisition, the form of waterboarding most widely used today involves choking the victim by filling his or her throat with a steady stream of water so as to simulate the experience of drowning. The use of waterboarding, known variously as "water torture," the "water cure", or “tormenta de toca,” was first documented in the 14th century, according to Ed Peters, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania (Weiner). Around 1800, as the Enlightenment swept across Europe, many countries banned the practice and people began to view waterboarding as "morally repugnant;" nevertheless, President Bush still authorized the use of this contemptible practice approximately 183 times on Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the September 11th attacks, and 83 times on Abu Zubaydah, another prominent al-Qaeda operative. Staunchly unremorseful, Bush went so far as to state that he would "do it again to save lives" while speaking to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Associated Press). In 2010, the Prime Minister of Great Britain voiced opposition to George Bush's claim that waterboarding was a legitimate interrogation method after Bush had attempted to downplay the brutality of the technique and claimed that it had saved British lives (Siddique & McGreal). The British went further, confirming that they share in President Obama's position that waterboarding indeed constitutes torture (Siddique & McGreal). In addition, former Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, who was subjected to torture techniques as a soldier in Vietnam, has long professed that waterboarding is a “horrible torture technique” and a “terrible and odious practice” that “should never be condoned in the United States” (USA Today). With the eyes of the world upon it, it is essential that the United States clearly differentiate its own