Is our nation’s government willing to acquire information in any way necessary?
This week the U.S. Senate released a report stating the CIA was engaged in torture techniques post 9/11 in a no holds barred attempt to gain information.
The report lists a number of torture techniques used by the agency such as waterboarding, denying a man with a bullet wound medical treatment and leaving a man stuffed in a box far too small for him for 266 hours.
While not as bad as what other governments have done in the past, most notably Hitler during World War II, it’s hard to imagine agencies that represent the country that fought to protect people from such mistreatment engaged in torture.
Understandably the actions took place after what many consider to be the worst terrorist attack on American soil. People tend to do rash things when emotions are involved.
Waterboarding could potentially be one of the worst acts of torture. It involves the use of a cloth over the person’s face, after which water is poured over the victim’s face.
This form of torture emulates the sensation of drowning and poses the risk of causing serious harm to the victim.
The report does not state whether anyone died as a result of the torture, and subsequent reporting on the matter provides mixed information as to whether any life information was retrieved that saved the lives of Americans by thwarting terrorism.
It’s hard to say whether our country did the right thing by interrogating prisoners through the use of torture. Most people would object to the torture of any human being. Especially when there are so many other ways to procure information.
Should the U.S. use torture to procure information?