Mild Torture During Interrogations. That's O.K, Isn't It ?

[chequita guevara]

It's the voted from the S&M crowd.

[SlowwHand]

From another source, easily found using the Chinese banned search engine Google.

"According to US law, information or confessions obtained by physical threat or torture are inadmissible at trial. Law enforcement agents who use such methods are also subject to suit by the victim or can be charged with battery by the government. In countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, however, authorities routinely use torture to beat suspects into submission, and sections of the political establishment in the US are campaigning that such methods now be allowed in the September 11 investigation."

[Q Classic]

i'm willing to bet some are people who actually thought they were selecting the banana option.

[DinoDoc]

For loinburger:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

U.S. now might have to consider what once was unthinkable, Dershowitz says

This story was published in Metro on Monday, November 5, 2001.

By Tina Hesman
Of The Post-Dispatch

Americans may have to consider ideas as foreign as truth serums and torture warrants when thinking about striking a balance between liberty and security after the terrorist attacks Sept. 11.

That was the message celebrity lawyer and civil libertarian Alan M. Dershowitz delivered to a crowd packed into a gymnasium Sunday at the Jewish Community Center in Creve Coeur. Dershowitz was the opening speaker for the Jewish Book Fair.

He originally was scheduled to talk about his book "Supreme Injustice," a critical account of the Supreme Court's ruling on the presidential
election last year. But Dershowitz instead turned his comments to civil liberties.

"I'm not in the mood to start being critical of the legitimacy of the president at a time like this," he said.

Dershowitz said he always supported the philosophy that it was better to let criminals go free than to unjustly detain innocent people. But he suggested that terrorist acts should make civil rights activists
readjust their thinking on some issues.

The American Civil Liberties Union nearly revoked his membership for suggesting that national identity cards should be required, he said. The cards would carry basic information - a person's name and Social
Security number - and a picture, he proposed.

Law enforcement officials and security workers could request to see the cards to verify the identity of a person at any time, he said. The civil libertarians are opposed to such a measure because they say it would
violate the right to privacy.

Dershowitz counters that the measure does not violate privacy rights but does take away a guarantee of anonymity that terrorists have used to their advantage.

It's time to reassess laws and decide how to deal with situations that may arise when dealing with terrorists, he said. Legislators should evaluate and revise quarantine laws before a wholesale bioterrorism
attack strikes the United States, he said, calling the current anthrax attacks "retail bioterrorism."

Americans need to consider what measures should be allowed to get information from unwilling terror suspects, he said. After law enforcement officials have asked, begged, cajoled, threatened and bribed a
close-mouthed witness, they may need to take more drastic measures to elicit vital information, Dershowitz said.

Americans should begin thinking about whether it would be permissible to grant the suspect immunity from prosecution and then administer truth serum.

Even torture may not be off the table as an information-gathering tool, Dershowitz said. But there must be a national debate about the circumstances in which torture is permissible and who should have the
power to decide when to use it. Dershowitz suggested that judges could issue torture warrants in certain cases.

Americans must plan their approach to these disquieting issues carefully and not allow the basic values of the country to erode, he said.

"If Osama bin Laden comes out with a white flag, we'd darned well better arrest him. We're still a country under the rule of law," Dershowitz said.

Dershowitz, a professor from Harvard who has been called the lawyer of last resort, said that even he wouldn't take bin Laden's case.

"That's not a call I want to get."

[Nubclear]

No, torture is disgusting no matter what. Its definately not OK, under no conditions.

[Sonic]

Che, you maybe didn't understood the topic correctly. Of course I and most of humans wouldn't stand real tortuing with like pinning out eyes or brning out legs and leaving stumps.

But, this topic doesn't talks about such tortuing. As far as I understood, it talks about so-called "humanic tortuing", which was introduced in Algeria at war. Prime objective of it is to create pain without killing people or making them handicapped or otherwise phisically "damaging" them for whole lifetime. So there are only 3 "major" types of tortuing remaining - tortuing with water, tortuing with electricity and psychological tortuing. None of these three types are able to create really much pain (tortuing with electricity is, but too high voltage could trigger death, so it wouldn't be called "humanic tortuing" with high voltages).

As I said, I would admit smaller crimes if tortued, but that also doesn't depends on werether I did them or not.

[SlowwHand]

I should point out that it's well-know throughout the world, whether you want to admit it or not, that the U.S. has a very humanistic viewpoint that numerous countries simply don't share.
Additionally, this knowledge of our viewpoint is many times exploited.
That stokes some's fire to an extremely high level, it would appear.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I should point out that it's well-know throughout the world, whether you want to admit it or not, that the U.S. has a very humanistic viewpoint that numerous countries simply don't share.

[threadjack]

Um...I once heard that there was this Indian guy who was arrested (with about a thousand others) as a terrorist. Well, after a few months, he was convicted of credit card fraud....However he came out (not sure of all of this...) blind, having constant headaches, lost 30 pounds, among other things.....

Whether this storty is true or not, my point is that you never know what happens behind closed doors....

[Capt Dizle]

Torture has its place. Captured terrorists certainly should be tortured if there is a reasonable expectation that information might be gleaned that could save the lives of the innocent. These people are not US citizens and have no rights.

POWs on the other hand, or criminals, thats different.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Tassadar5000
my point is that you never know what happens behind closed doors....

That's exactly what Charlie Rich said.

[Sonic]

jimmy, re-read my posts

[loinburger]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
The American Civil Liberties Union nearly revoked his membership for suggesting that national identity cards should be required, he said.

The ACLU is a good organization in principle, but as far as I'm concerned they're every bit as culpable as Bush/Cheney/etc. for the current crisis over civil liberties. Reacting to a differing opinion by sticking your fingers in your ears and howling is no way to come to a fair resolution.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by SlowwHand


That's exactly what Charlie Rich said.

(If this person is a common american personality, forgive me but) whos charlie rich?

[SlowwHand]

Country-western singer.

CHORUS:
And when we get behind closed doors
Then she lets her hair hang down
And she makes me glad that I'm a man
Oh no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
My, behind closed doors.

[dunk]

Torture never leads to reliable information. People crack under the pressure simply to get the pain to stop.

Even if it's simply water trickling down your back for 3 days, you'll crack and say, "Osama bin Laden is in Cave #7!!!" just to make them turn off the water. Even if it is just for 30 seconds until they say "You're lying." and turn it back on.