Senior Project Final Draft Paper

4/17/2019 Senior Project Final Draft Paper - Google Docs
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Malach Goldberg
Layton
English IV: Period 7
2 April 2019
Preventing the Invisible Threat
Throughout history there have been times that require information to be gathered as
quickly as possible to stop an impending attack or future harm against society. Whether it was a
witch in 1631 or a jihadist in Guantanamo Bay, torture has been employed to gather information
quickly and reliably. Yet it does neither of these things. It has been proven repeatedly that it
yields information that is unreliable and slowly gathered. Torture does not prevent terrorism, it
typically further fuels radicalism. This topic effects everyone indirectly. The use of torture either
further motivates terrorists to commit attacks or at the very least does not prevent future attack, it
affects society as whole. This issue directly affects three groups of people. The first group is the
terrorist themselves. They are treated beyond inhumane, for a lack of benefit, in terms of
gathering information. The second group is the torturer. These are typically soldiers or agents
who are left with mental damage from the heinous acts they commit against fellow human
beings. The final group is the nation as a whole as torture devalues human life, lowers moral
standards and lessens the desire to collaborate with that nation. It is difficult to work with a
nation who has treated other human beings like animals and pushed them to the point of begging
for the end. This issue will continue to be prevalent in the future, especially with the current
administration’s views of support regarding torture. Terrorists cause fear to spread pandemically;
however, this does not justify the use of torture, which recurrently yields erroneous information.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ueucxd90LmPHqYjD2sNjolgGSby06nepPX2nGCjTBik/edit 1/9
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Torture has been around for thousands of years. From torturing dissidents of the Roman
Republic to accused witches, it has been used to gather information. Modern torture has shifted
from medieval methods to modern techniques, renamed “enhanced interrogation”. The point of
changing the name is to circumvent the fact that torture is illegal under the Geneva Conventions.
Calling acts like waterboarding “enhanced interrogation”, is blatantly lying about what it is.
Christopher Hitchens, a Vanity Fair columnist, recently went under a waterboarding simulation
and said this about the ordeal, “If waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such
thing as torture” (Shermer). As torture has been used for so long, it is important to understand the
ramifications and if it should be used in the future. This issue has been increasingly prevalent in
modern day America. Not only are the American people continuously learning more about the
horrible acts of torture committed during the War on Terror, the current administration has
promised to reinstitute torture. In a statement regarding ISIS, President Trump said that he
believes the [United States] needs to fight fire with fire (Merica). There are slight discrepancies
in research for the topic of torture because of redacted information and gaps in reporting of the
events that transpired. A lot of the things that happened during the War on Terror were not made
public until well after they occured, sighting national security concerns. With reports that are
vague on details because they contain sensitive material it is difficult to grasp the full picture and
what exactly happened during many of these torture sessions.
Gathering specious information is unavoidable when employing torture tactics. Torture
pushes the human body to the absolute limits. This is done to extract information from an
unwilling source. Yet this process typically counteracts the progress towards a desired goal.
When the extreme stressors that are used in torture are employed, it shifts the brain away from its
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typical, narrow range of operation thus inhibiting the ability to function properly. This leads to
tissue loss within the brain, specifically within the temporal lobe which is the region of the brain
where memories are stored.The method of sleep deprivation, commonly implored in torture,
prevents proper general cognitive function as well as inhibiting psychomotor functioning
(O’Mara). This, however, transcends beyond just the individual being tortured. The people
torturing the detainees are also deeply troubled. They are unable to function properly due to Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, and the inability to sleep (O’Mara). These
newly created issues can remain for a lifetime, tormenting someone that was patriotically doing
their duty in the name of national defense. After inevitably arriving at the breaking point, the
detainee becomes a river flowing with false information, saying anything and everything to get
the pain to cease. Following the capture of a suspected terrorist, it is necessary to extract
information from them. Whether it is information about their group’s inner workings or the plan
for an upcoming attack, it is important to gather clear, correct intelligence. This is impossible,
however, when using a primitive tool such as torture. A prime example of this was the CIA’s
capturing and torture of an Al Qaeda operative. After days of torturing, it was found that the Al
Qaeda operative had information about major landmarks in the United States being targeted,
however, these were proved to be baseless (Inskeep). To continuously get fabricated information
demonstrates the flaws in the torture philosophy. According to NPR, Torture metaphorically is
costing too much because it creates significantly more problems than it solves (Inskeep). It is
hard to justify the countless risks for nonexistent rewards. With a consistent lack of validity in
the information gathered, it is important to explore new techniques that can yield factual
information. Without the implementation of new techniques, there will be a stagnant flow of
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information, which has the potential to allow terrorism to run wild.
With more effective methods of gathering information, the use of torture is puzzling.
Recently the news magazine, The Week , conducted formal studies that show how it is impossible
for torturers to distinguish truth from falsehood reliably when conducting enhanced
interrogations (Cooper). If information can not be gathered that is truthful, information cannot be
gathered efficiently whatsoever. To be successful in the field of intelligence, gathering
information efficiently and reliably is key. During The Week ’s studies they also found that, “for
harvesting information, torture is the clumsiest method available to organizations, even clumsier
in some cases than flipping coins or shooting randomly into crowds. The sources of error are
systematic and ineradicable” (Cooper). Efficiency in information gathering is also important
because of frequent time constraints. If a dirty bomb is set to go off in a city of millions,
efficiency is crucial in the act to save lives. This is a key issue for torture because The Week also
found in their studies that time takes all the issues with torture and dials them up to eleven. This
is because to achieve the same results, the techniques have to be done more quickly increasing
the possibility of memory damage and blackouts (Cooper). This illustrates that torture not only is
ineffective when time is plentiful, all the issues get amplified ten fold when a timetable is
factored in. Meaning that torture becomes even more unreliable and dangerous to use when the
clock is ticking down. The much more artful and efficient technique in information gathering is
rather simple. It consists of building up a rapport with the detainee to collect information. This
method has proven it effectiveness on multiple occasions. It also prevents unwanted side effects
from more hostile methods like torture. Scientific American , a well respected science magazine
that has been publishing since 1845, found that when relationshipbuilding and rapport style
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techniques were utilized, they were the most effective unrelated to an intended outcome or
certain context, and were naturally more well received than any other method (Shermer). This
modern technique of information gathering, that utilizes an ethical approach, points towards a
revaluation of current intelligence gathering methods that will ultimately improve countless lives
the world over.
Ethics is the guidelines that humanity should live by, but the use of torture will continue
to prevent that dream from becoming a reality. This explains why torture by definition is
unethical. It is inhumane and utterly diminishes the moral compass of all parties involved. When
torture is used it reflects badly on the group that is committing the atrocious act. After breaching
the threshold into torture it is almost guaranteed that there will be a subsequent sharp decrease in
professionalism, shown by behavioral indicators, in the agencies that approved the atrocities
(Cooper). As in many things in life, some torture methods are more unethical than others. One
that is particularly inhumane is the use of electricity. This is due to the fact that excruciating pain
is delivered from shock weapons that leave little physical evidence but cause incompresible
amounts of emotional distress. While these shock weapons may have been created with good
intentions, this does not always happen. According to Time magazine, prison guards in Texas,
California, and Arizona have often been accused of using stun batons to torment inmates. This
has led to the device being banned in five states (Waller/Washington). This goes to show that
even technology originally created to help prevent harm, can be abused in a such a way that
questions the creation of the device in the first place. It is not only unethical to use certain
methods of torture, it is also unethical to actively be associated with the use of torture. Harming
another human for personal gain should not come naturally. Torture is typically ordered through
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the chain of command. In America, the top of the command structure is the President of the
United States. According to Foreign Affairs , during the 2016 election campaign Donald Trump
vowed to reinstate torture. Trump also said the revamped use of torture would be significantly
worse than waterboarding. He held this position throughout the campaign and even went so far to
say that he would not be bothered whatsoever by bringing back torture in the U.S. (Johnson et
al.). Supporting torture is unethical in a unique way. It is essentially giving consent to a futile
method that harms another person, knowing that it will not amount to anything, which is utterly
wrong.
Torture was integral to catching Osama Bin Laden and thwarting major attacks before
they happened, according to the CIA. To see if this claim was true the Senate Intelligence
Committee held an investigation and hearing into eight cases in which the CIA believed torture
saved lives, and the same result would not have come about by other means of interrogation.
According to the New York Times , the Committee’s report undercuts the CIA’s claim that the use
of torture led to the capture of terrorists and thwarted impending plots (Apuzzo et al.).
Throughout the Senate Committee’s review they found time and time again that torture was not
the defining tool in the intelligence gathering process. The key information was gathered before
the enhanced interrogation took place thus rendering it unnecessary and futile. Not only were
terrorists captured without the help of enhanced interrogation, countless attacks were thwarted as
well. The CIA claimed that torture was vital in preventing terrorist attacks that were looming.
However, the Senate Intelligence Committee findings directly refute that. In regards to stopping
attacks, the Committee found that what actually prevented the attacks was information gathered
before, or without relation to, the use of torture (Apuzzo et al.). Throughout the entire Senate
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Intelligence Committee hearing, of the eight cases that the CIA believed torture was
instrumental, ultimately disproved the CIA’s belief and further discredited the practice of using
torture.
On all accounts, it had been evident that torture does not yield reliable information and is
unjustified regardless of horrors terrorism amounts to. Throughout history it has been proven
repeatedly that torture is incapable of yielding reliable information. When time is a factor in
gathering information, which it often is, it has been substantiated that the most effective method
at gathering information is a “rapportstyle” technique. There is also a general consensus among
human beings that torturing someone is immoral. Shamelessly dehumanizing an individual,
whether that being through physical or emotional harm, is a disgusting practice that yields no
benefit and a myriad of consequences. As the current administration of the United States of
America is weighing the thought of reinstituting torture to combat terrorism, this issue will
continue to be omnipresent. Until the practice of torture is completely abolished, the fight for
human rights will be an uphill battle. Continuing to further education on the subject of torture’s
fruitlessness will work towards creating a stronger system of intelligence gathering. Spreading
the message of the pointless use of torture will help to inform the people of the heinous crimes
that are being orchestrated by their government. Change will result as the government is an
extension of the people and without the people, the government can hold no real power.
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Work Cited
Apuzzo, Matt, et al. “Does Torture Work? The C.I.A.'s Claims and What the Committee Found.”
The New York Times , The New York Times, 9 Dec. 2014,
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/12/08/world/doestortureworktheciasclaimsand
whatthecommitteefound.html.
Cooper, Ryan. “Why Torture Doesn't Work: A Definitive Guide.” The Week All You Need to
Know about Everything That Matters , The Week, 18 Dec. 2014,
theweek.com/articles/441396/whytorturedoesntworkdefinitiveguide.
Inskeep, Steve. “The Drawbacks of Fighting Terrorism with Torture.” NPR , NPR, 29 June 2006,
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5519633.
Johnson, Douglas A., et al. “The Strategic Costs of Torture.” Foreign Affairs , Foreign Affairs
Magazine, 26 Jan. 2017,
www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/unitedstates/strategiccoststorture.
Merica, Dan. “Trump on Waterboarding: 'We Have to Fight Fire with Fire'.” CNN , Cable News
Network, 26 Jan. 2017,
www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/donaldtrumpwaterboardingtorture/index.html.
O'Mara, Shane. “Why Torture Doesn't Work.” Psychology Today , Sussex Publishers, 26 Mar.
2016,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theinterrogatedbrain/201603/whytorturedoesntw
ork.
Shermer, Michael. “We've Known for 400 Years That Torture Doesn't Work.” Scientific
American , 1 May 2017,
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www.scientificamerican.com/article/wersquoveknownfor400yearsthattorturedoes
nrsquotwork/.
Waller/Washington, Douglas. “Weapons Of Torture.” Time , Time Inc., 24 June 2001,
content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138886,00.html.

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