...human rights. Unnoticed by many people, not every country has these rights, not every country is as fair and just as the United States of America. An example of a country that does not have the same human rights as the United States is Myanmar. Myanmar endorses forced child labor, torture, human trafficking, extrajudicial killings and many more (Wagley, uscampaignforburma.wordpress.com). The human right that I will be focusing on is torture, article 5 in the International Declaration of Human Rights, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (UN, un.org). This essay will focus on bringing the realities of torture and how inhumane...
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...Solomon Honors English II May 9, 2014 Torture Used an Interrogation Strategy One of the most controversially talked about topics is should torture be used. Torture is one of the most extreme forms of human violence (Gernity). Torture dates back to 530 A.D, when Roman jurists espoused to virtues of torture as the highest form of truth (Green). Torture was a well-established American tradition (Gewen). Torture can be used to gain valuable information in a timely manner, and other countries at war will not hesitate to use torture against their enemies to gain information. American Police and the U.S. Military have tortured people to gain information and evidence even though it is technically illegal. This shows that America is willing to break laws to gain information. Cruel and unusual punishment is banned in many countries including the United States of America (Torture is a Just Means for Preventing Terrorism). The Geneva Conventions ban the use of violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture (Torture is a Just Means for Preventing Terrorism). The United Convention Against Torture bans torture of all civilians, combatants, prisoners of war and terrorists (Torture is a Just Means for Preventing Terrorism). The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 5 states,” No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Torture is a Just Means for Preventing Terrorism)...
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...Torture For the Better The War on Terror began on September 11th, 2001, with the terrorist attack now simply referred to as 9/11. Not only have American soldiers captured countless Islamic terrorists since, but also a leader, Saddam Hussein. By battling with Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States (U.S.) has captured thousands of prisoners with the potential knowledge of upcoming terror attacks. These prisoners have been notoriously known for their intelligence of Al Qaeda operations, and the location of terrorist headquarters. When a capture is publicized, terrorists have the ability to quickly change locations and communication methods. Therefore, the intelligence available from the prisoners is only good for a short period of time. To gather the information while it is useful, should Americans be provided leniency in torturing these prisoners? To prevent future terrorism, should we be able to implement the torture that has been used by some terrorists themselves? In truth, America already has. Several doctors working for the U.S. Military violated the “ethical codes” of their profession. After a thorough investigation, it has been concluded that after 9/11, health professionals who worked with the military “designed and participated in cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment and torture of detainees,” (Boseley, 1). The only question now is: were these actions justified? Torture has been defined in U.S. courts as anything that “shocks the conscience,” (“The Debate” 4). In...
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...Schumacher | Professor Dena HurstPHI 210 | Strayer University | 6/21/2013 | | How is torture defined? Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 says “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel; inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Does imposing torture amongst terrorist detainees help the United States in fighting the war on terror? Al Qaeda started its war against America by carrying out the simultaneous bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 2008, the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000 and what pulled the United States into the global war on terrorism, September 11, 2001. What I will be discussing will be the political atmosphere after September 11th and the roles of our government officials and intelligence agencies. America is supposed to be a country of human rights and not to inflict cruel and unusual punishment on criminals sentenced in our own penal system. Where have we as a nation fallen? I do not believe that torturing or using “enhanced interrogation techniques” will give us the upper hand in the global war on terror. Who ultimately authorized the United States to enter into torturing another human being? The United States became aware of abuses and torturing of detainees from the Abu Ghraib scandal in Afghanistan in April 2004. Detainees underwent serious mistreatment, torture, threatened with dogs and other degrading situations. The photography of the military captors were...
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...current debate regarding torture being used as an interrogation measure stands whether or not forms of torture are being masked as “enhanced” interrogation techniques to extract information from suspected terrorists. The argument in Essay 161 is that waterboarding and other severe interrogation methods constitute as torture, and are not effective. Therefore, we should find alternative solutions to extract information. The argument in Essay 172 is that severe interrogation methods are necessary to save the lives of hundreds or thousands of innocent lives. Therefore, we should reject the arguments made by those against severe interrogation methods. In this paper, I will evaluate each of these arguments and furthermore say which argument is stronger with evidence. Enhanced interrogation methods refers to the U.S government’s program of systematic torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (and others) authorized by the George W. Bush administration.3 Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized suspect, causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning. Waterboarding can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, and other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage, and death.3 Whether waterboarding should be classified as a method of torture or not since it was...
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...written by Professor Alan Dershowitz. Then identify and describe the critical issues addressed in the article. In your paper, thoroughly discuss and evaluate the following concepts: the ticking time bomb hypothesis; Dershowitz's comments regarding Jeremy Bentham as well as his comments about Voltaire's views; and the three ways to deal with the use of torture in the ticking time bomb situation, as stated by the Israeli government-appointed commission of the late 1980s. As part of the discussion about the commission's conclusions, include Dershowitz's "fourth road." Abstract After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America, numerous articles and books were published. These articles and books analyzed why the 9/11 attack happened and proposed solutions on how to prevent terrorist attacks in the future. Alan Dershowitz contributed to this body of literature from a lawyer's perspective in his book titled Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge. In an article from the book titled, Should the Ticking Time Bomb Terrorist Be Tortured, many of his suggestions such as the use of torture, are rather controversial; however, Dershowitz encourages people to rethink current notions of security, liberty, and international law. Alan Dershowitz acknowledges that he is not an expert on terrorism; his opinions, suggestions and methods in his articles and books were written using his lifetime of experience in crime and violence from the perspective...
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...The Morality of Torture The authority of using torture as a punishment in the past has been a cause for conflict. Today, some people see torture as an efficient form of punishment; they believe it is especially necessary in the treatment of terrorist prisoners or prisoners for the purpose of pulling information. Some writers make up fake situations to blow the advantages of torture out of proportion, claiming that it is danger free, low cost and useful for getting fast response. However, after carefully thinking through the arguments used by many torture supporters, one will figure out that the arguments of torture supporters are false. Writers who support torture show less logic, but rather offended anger to evil violence. The use of torture as а form of punishment should be prohibited because contrary to the arguments of torture supporters, it does not serve а purpose, is against international law, and will only perpetuate hatred and retaliation. (Davis) According to, the International Statuette, Torture is any kind of use of force, mental or physical used on a human being to gain third party information or self-confession. No country prefers to use it but is forced to do in order to safeguard the lives of its citizens and smoothen justice. (Greenberg) Most criminal suspects go through some level of torture. Torture may involve Physical methods like starvation, beatings, burning, sodomy as well as psychological methods such as verbal abuse, solitary confinement, and sleep...
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...have Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp there are those who feel that we should close it down and stop the torture for example degrading the person lack of sleep or lack of food and even though it was effective at times to get information out of prisoners by using such techniques though after September 11, 2001 and the media getting pictures of how we was treating these prisoners we had to change, some to the good others are not so good because a prisoner may tell you what you want to hear and it may not be the truth. Then there is still the public inquiring about the prisoners where would we have to transfer them? This scares those who live near a prison, many are terrorist so what should we do? Clean up and make Alcatraz Island also known as the Rock and put them there? From what we have learned that place is no better. Until there is peace throughout all the lands and countries there will and must be safeguards not just for us but for those who are suicide bombers and other terrorist. When someone threatened U.S. interests and safety, the government started thinking up ways to protect the citizens of our beautiful country. This is where the USA Patriot Act came from. The USA Patriot Act was signed into law by former President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001, just a little over a month after the attacks. It is an acronym that stands for, Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. The easiest...
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...Is Torture Justified? EN4120 23 August 2013 ITT Technical Institute Abstract Torture should be allowed if it saves lives. Why should any lives be lost if there is a way to save them. Terrorists are not even protected by the Geneva Conventions so why should they have the same rights and privileges as Prisoners of War. Is Torture Justified? So the question is, Is Torture Justified? My claim is that as long as torture saves lives then torture should be allowed by all means. Torture has always been a part of civilization. It goes back as far as the Greeks and Romans and as recently as when detainees were being held in Guantánamo Bay Cuba in 2004. In 1949 the Geneva Conventions was sanctioned during the wake of World War II. Even though the Geneva Conventions of 1949 was established torture has been and is still used inappropriately. Cornell University Law School found, “The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are otherwise rendered hors de combat, or incapable of fighting.” The Geneva Conventions explains how terrorists are defined under the Geneva Conventions as not being held up to the same standards as Prisoner Of War are. So if terrorists are not to be considered protected by the Geneva Conventions then in that case torture should be justified for a least terrorists. Just think how many lives could have been saved if United States had the means or the opportunity to have tortured someone...
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...Kenny Anderson Political Science Prof. Hawn 10 October 2012 Government and Torture Means of torture have been used around the world for a number of years. At one point in time it had been terminated in the United States; however, after the events of September 11, 2001, it has come back as an acceptable way to acquire information from terrorists. Torture is, according to the United Nation Convention Against Torture in 1984: “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanctions.” (OHCHR) This definition, regardless of any country's own rules, regulations and laws is obligatory to be carried out by all the countries. When someone is accused of being a culprit of torture, there are various credentials, which are modified to wartime situations when needed. In general to be a culprit, one must bring severe physical, mental pain or suffering upon the victim. In most scenarios...
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...Torture and Terrorism. On September 11, 2001, the U.S. was attacked by the terrorist group Al-Qaida. Terrorists hijacked four airplanes and carried out attack against targets in the United States. September 11 attack resulted in the loss of almost three thousand people, and caused at least ten billion dollars of damage on infrastructure and property. Following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, the United States of America, which was the number one defender of human rights around the world faced questions about the use of torture to obtain confessions. The debates over torture’s legitimacy created two groups, one defending the use of torture to save innocent people’s lives,...
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... Torture and Ethics Paper CJA 530 January 31st, 2011 Eddie Koen Torture and Ethics Paper Torture is something that is known as wrong internationally. Torture is “deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons acting on the orders of authority, to force a person to yield information, to confess, or any other reason” (World Medical Association, 1975, pg.1). There is a general consensus that there is a right to be free from any kind of torture as it can be found in many different human rights treaties around the world. The treaties show that all of the thoughts about torture are pointing away from the right to torture someone no matter what the case is. In American society we do have a high morality on life and how we should be treated. Torture is something that may not be written down in every countries laws, but is listed in different provisions of the law. In the American Society we all believe that we all shall be free from torture even if we are accused of a crime and do not want to talk about the crime that we are accused of committing. “International norms in this array of treaties and customary international law impose ranges of obligations on states. For instance, states must not only refrain from using torture, they must also take strong positive measures to prevent and punish torture” (McKay, 2005, pg.1037). If we have the right to be free from torture in here in America we believe...
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...Introduction As the strongest country in the world, America can done all kinds of oppressions onto any country that US like either through strong military force, from economic way and also social of that country. American corporations and popular culture has actually affects the lives and infect the indigenous cultures of millions around the world. Due to the foreign policy of the US government, backed by its military strength, has unprecedented global influence now that the America is the world’s only superpower-its first ‘hyperpower’. America lead all the ways whereby it exports its value systems, defining what it means to be civilized, rational-indeed, what actually it is to be human. Apart from that, America itself is impervious to outside influence, and if most Americans think of the rest of the world at all, it is in terms of deeply ingrained cultural stereotypes. Many people do hate America from Middle East to the developing countries as well as in Europe. Along with the happening of tragedy 9-11, public has focused on the question-‘Why do people hate America?’ This is a loaded question and not simply a statement. However, it would not be weird if people hate America as they often oppressed many other weaker countries especially countries from the Third World. The oppressions done by America can be grouped into three major ways that are politically, economically, and from the social aspect too. Politics The brand of external interventionism adopted by...
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...ruling from a judge, as to whether physical pressure is warranted under the specific circumstances, in order to avoid being subject to an after the fact risk of imprisonment. Thus was born the proposal for a torture warrant. Actually it was a rebirth, because half a millennium ago torture warrants were part of the law of Great Britain. They could be sought only in cases involving grave threats to the Crown or the Empire and were granted in about one case a year. Judges even in those times, were extremely reluctant to authorize the thumb screw. Why then should we even think about returning to an old practice that was abolished in England many years ago. The reason is because if we ever did have a ticking bomb case - - especially a ticking nuclear bomb case - - law enforcement officials would in fact resort to physical force, even torture, as a last resort. In speaking to numerous audiences since September 11th - - audiences reflecting the entire breadth of the political and ideological spectrum - - I have asked for a show of hands as to how many would favor the use of non-lethal torture in an actual ticking bomb case. The vast majority of audience members responded in the affirmative. So have law enforcement officials to whom I have spoken. If it is true that torture would in fact be used in such a case, then...
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...Not many people can say that they’ve made as much as an influence on America as Alice Paul had made. Alice Paul was a one of many suffragist leaders and the founder of the National Woman’s Party (NWP) and the Silent Sentinels in 1916. She, as well as Lucy Burns dedicated their lives to fight for the voting rights of women. Alice Paul contributed greatly to the success of the suffragist movement. On March 3, 1913, a parade was organized to get publicity and to state that woman's right to vote needs to become a constitutional amendment. The Silent Sentinels peacefully picketed the white house before and during the war. Alice and the other women go to the District Jail for “obstructing traffic” and was able to get out the message of the torture she...
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