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 prior to September 11, 2001? But what about after 2006, between 2006 and 2012; 111,041 people worldwide have lost their lives due to terrorist attacks.
See Appendix (A)
Like ever things in this world, torture should have just cause. I believe as long as torture saves human lives then torture should be allowed by any means. Everyone knows that if someone is tortured and that information is released to the media then the person commenting the torture is crucified. So if someone is being detained or in prison then that person is less likely to provide information that could or would save innocent people lives. Is it fair to allow innocent people to die if there is a way to acquire information that could save their lives?
See Appendix (B)
It is true that torture has always been a part of civilization. But, that does not mean it right. I understand saving lives are in important, but to actually torture someone by any means is un-human. We as a society should be above barbaric behavior. There is a reason why the Geneva Conventions was sanctioned during the wake of World War II. Government realized that Prisoners of War should be treated with human and respect.
So the question is, Is Torture Justified? I do not agree with the claim that as long as torture saves lives then torture should be allowed by all means. We should not stoop to the same level as terrorists or any other radical country. The United States is considered a human country. People from all around the country want to come to America to live because what we offer. United States offer a safe place where people can live without being sacred of being tortured. Also, by treating Prisoners of War with human and not torturing them, I believe that they would be more willing to corporate. United States needs to set the example for other countries to follow when it comes to torture. After the United States the United Nations should play a key role in making sure that torture is not being conducted. If torture is being conducted then the individual, country, or organization should be held to the fullest extent of the law.
References
Cornell University Law School, retrieved 16 August 2013, http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/geneva_Conventions
Gross, O. et al. (2005, October 18). Is Torture Ever Justified?, Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/justify/
Nelson, N. (2013, May 30th). Terrorists not defined in Geneva Conventions, Washington Times, The (DC), May 30, 2013, p2, 1p, Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/ehost/detail?sid=6a7a47f5-14e6-4ee1-9220-824db9bee8ba%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=120&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=bwh&AN=4KB520130530020719020031
Appendix
A, NCTC, (2013, May) Terrorism - Number of Fatalities Worldwide 2006-2012, Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/202871/number-of-fatalities-by-terrorist-attacks-worldwide/
B, Carly, (2008, September 12) 9/11, Retrieved from http://mooseprints.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/911/ 