The Story
An American Perspective: Torturing Ourselves
While the practice of torturing enemy combatants has been used by the United States government for years to extract information to protect American lives and interests, many have begun to question the ethics behind this inhumane treatment of prisoners. Few can argue that torture in itself is just, and many feel that recently it has been used excessively at locales such as Baghdad and Camp X-ray, Cuba. While gruesome and sadistic torture practices undermine our cause and morality, I believe that perhaps more mild forms of torture must not be eliminated as a means to deal with terrorists and prisoners of war.
In order to find the purpose behind this viewpoint, I must highlight a worst-case scenario. There may be a point, sometime in the near future, that a government agency captures an Al-Qaeda cell operating in the United States. This person may even be an American citizen, with all of the rights and freedoms given to a citizen of this nation. Therefore, he is indeed entitled to due process under the law, and of course, the right to a fair trial. However, the government may have information to indicate that in a few hours, a device located in a major metropolitan area of the United States may detonate, killing thousands, or perhaps millions of innocent civilians. The government may also believe that this cell has information as to the location of the device, its capabilities, and how it was manufactured. It is at this point that government officials would have to make the decision whether or not to sacrifice an individual’s rights for the good of the nation. While this situation can be considered extreme, I do not believe it is entirely out of the realm of possibility. And although sacrificing a citizen’s rights is perhaps what the terrorists were aiming for, the cost of not doing so would simply be horrific.
Of course, this worst case scenario is not applicable to the mistreatment of prisoners without purpose. Torturing enemy combatants and violating the Geneva Convention simply adds to the distrust of the American government around the globe. Nevertheless, our adversaries will continue to use torture, human shields, and any other means possible to achieve victory. Senator Joe Biden may disagree, but the enemy will torture American soldiers regardless of American practices, simply because they face no consequences for doing so.
The recent beheadings of American contractors and journalists further illustrates that terrorists have and will use brutal means for nothing else but publicity. Those who are completely opposed to American torture practices may then compare these two very different forms of torture. While the enemy slices through the esophagus of an innocent man to show the world that they are capable of such atrocities, the American government uses sleep deprivation in an attempt to gain information on battlefield layouts and planned modes of attack to save the lives of marines.
Therefore, rather than prolong the debate on American use of torture, perhaps it would be in our best interest to set a firm policy. It is my belief that torture, in the most civilized form possible, must be permitted, as long as there is just cause. Those who disagree may then ask the question, where is the honor in a just nation using unjust means? My answer to this question is simple: if torturing a brutal fanatic would save the life of your father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, or perhaps your entire family, how would you expect a government of honor to act?
Josh Powers is a staff columnist for the DSJ. His views do not necessarily represent those of the entire staff.