Torture

[Suicidesoldier#1]

In my opinion, what justifies torture is more or less the scenario. If time is of the essence, and torture is the only option available for retrieving information, than that is what justifies it.

While I don't want to hurt or kill anyone, letting say, a kidnapper not reveal the location of the victims, who will eventually starve or dehydrate to death, isn't going to fly. If you have to rough him up a little to get the information out of him, then so be it; similarly, any "ticking time bomb scenario", like say a nuclear bomb that would destroy an entire city, may not afford you the time needed to do a proper interrogation, or may not crack under ordinary scenarios.


That being said, there are limits on what is acceptable, and some things should never be done to people, and are too horrific (rape, certain forms of acupuncture, and so on).

That also being said, by the time we've exhausted every other form of interrogation technique, I imagine we will have found the answers by then. And they'll be more reliable and provide more information than torture. A person who's so arrogant and convinced his plan will work no matter what wants to talk to you, explain the details of his master plan, and as a result reveal information that could stop it. Other threats could work; after a long enough period of time, people will black out or become numb to the pain, so there's a good chance torture won't even work.



That ALSO ALSO being said, there are ways to scan people's brains with MRI scanners and reconstruct images, ideas, and other things, as well as thermal scanners and MRI scanners that can tell if people are lying to near 100% accuracy, that are far more reliable and accurate than interrogations or torture all together.

It may seem questionably unethical to give government's machines that can read minds, but then again, I don't really give a damn on that issue. Throughout all the inquisitions in history, they didn't need to know what was really in your mind to convict you and attack you; if anything, it would just make it easier to disprove your evilness since they actually could figure out you were telling the truth, and that you weren't a witch or what have you. This would also be ridiculously complicated to pull off.


Obama put 100 million dollars in figuring out how the brain works.

I say 10 billion. If we do, we can create artificial eyes and other body parts, which will greatly increase our ability to handicapped or disabled people normal lives. It also could be used to enhance people's capabilities beyond that of normal humans, which is always a plus; and read minds, of course. None of this interrogation stuff.


Torture is also often unreliable.

Particularly to individuals immune to pain.

[Suicidesoldier#1]

-Kali-La-Fae-

[C.U.T.]

It's naive to think they don't use torture to attain information.

This.

However, in my opinion torture is unreliable.

Pain just motivates someone to tell you the quickest thing to make the pain stop.
Whether that is true is another thing entirely.
Actual torture is like getting groceries with a blowtorch: it doesn't work and it makes a mess.
-Burn notice is a great show-

The threat of violence is better. Fear is a much better motivator than pain, however this requires you to have more than two brain cells to rub together so i'm not surprised america would go for the pliers and sharp objects.

Burn notice. ninja

[Mebibyte]

Torture, while unreliable, is still frequently used. Remember how America became famous for waterboarding just about anyone and everyone they got ahold of?

[Samadhi23]

-Kali-La-Fae-

[C.U.T.]

It's naive to think they don't use torture to attain information.

This.

However, in my opinion torture is unreliable.

Pain just motivates someone to tell you the quickest thing to make the pain stop.
Whether that is true is another thing entirely.
Actual torture is like getting groceries with a blowtorch: it doesn't work and it makes a mess.
-Burn notice is a great show-

The threat of violence is better. Fear is a much better motivator than pain, however this requires you to have more than two brain cells to rub together so i'm not surprised america would go for the pliers and sharp objects.

I was actually google-searching for that quote when I figured I should see if someone else beat me to it. /agreedx1000

[FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-]

Not physical torture, no.

I'd rather us hack and spy than torture. Sure you can use intimidating interrogation techniques but not torture

and torture can get people to say anything, can't verify its truthfulness compared to the drop in diplomacy and integrity

[Tiberius_The_Space_Viking]

Hasn't torture proven to be ineffective? I thought people were more willing to say anything to en torture.

[Suicidesoldier#1]

If torture worked I might agree as long as it didn't cross certain boundaries; one man momentary discomfort to save the life of another, or dozen's of others, especially for a man who deserves it, can be seen as justifiable.

But ultimately it's less effective and will end up just either getting the person to lie or only tell part of the story. Traditional and general forms of interrogation are best; a person may lie to stop the pain, but if he already thinks he's won because you told him the terrorist attack succeed he may reveal everything to you, and thus give you the ability to stop it. All interrogations are really about giving the target enough information to make it seem like you know what you're doing, while letting them fill in the blanks enough to let you figure out the information you want to know. Deception is important; play on their arrogance, paranoia, their stupidity, their fear, but don't necessarily attack them. Tell them their buddy squealed on them, or that their group is betraying them; convince them sufficiently that their whole world is crashing down, or maybe, build a new one. Control when they eat, what time, where they are, the sleeping conditions, what they think is the case. How much trouble they're in, who their captors are; are you CIA, police, Delta Force? They don't know. A rival group?

A good interrogator who can't get information directly creates a new environment; a new sense of reality. Creates an illusion or delusion to trick the target into telling the truth. While truth serums and drugs rarely help, the general core concept is that a relaxed, paranoid, stimulated, etc. target tends to be better. If you are close, appear as if you are far; if you are far, appear as if you are close. If he is easily angered, aggravate him; if he is arrogant, make him think he has won or can win. If he is weak willed, push harder; the Art of War tells the greatest ways to manipulate foes, but it also applies to interrogation and regular forms of deception. It's your greatest tactic. Blackmail, making his group think he betrayed them, or that his group betrayed him, and so on. Tear down his precious ideology and all it's faculties, make it appear as if they are losing; perhaps even convince him he is right with God. Whatever works. Ultimately, interrogation is a mental and social thing, not a physical one. You want him to talk, get him to talk, hurting him just gets them to scream or wince in pain, which accomplishes nothing. People will eventually become numb to the pain, but who they are as people is more important.


Also, I'd be all for supporting mind reading MRI scanners that could piece together images or at least answer yes or no questions.

Or say, when the police have to say you are the police, or the CIA have to say who they are; screw that. You can say whoever you are, as you want. Some may find that somewhat immortal, government mind reading machines, but I don't really have a problem against that particularly, myself.

[Avgvsto]

-Kali-La-Fae-

Actual torture is like getting groceries with a blowtorch: it doesn't work and it makes a mess.

So many life lessons to be had from that show.

[-Kali-La-Fae-]

Avgvsto

-Kali-La-Fae-

Actual torture is like getting groceries with a blowtorch: it doesn't work and it makes a mess.

So many life lessons to be had from that show.

I was hoping someone would recognize it, truth though love it.

[OkayIGotIt]

I agree with you.

[The20]

Sure, you could torture people. Or you could learn from history.