Torture, is it wrong?

It has nothing to do with superiority, there is right and wrong. There is going to far to achieve your goals. At some point the cost of your actions is not worth the reward.But there is a practical reason as well. When you do not follow certain international rules there are consequences.

If some one of your views were up for command of our armed forces I would hope that they would deny that person the opportunity to turn our soldiers into monsters. Ethical behavior matters in war when it is seen that we will not follow those rules the world community then has to decide if we can be trusted at all? If we encourage our soldiers to descend into savagery with the view that achieving their military goals matter more then any other concern the other nations of the world will band against us and destroy us. If only because we would be a threat to them all. The rules of war is what separates soldiers from killers, the other nations of the world can accept efficient soldiers. But they will strike back at killers. It is why the world saw ISIS as a threat worthy of international intervention. Those rules set a frame work on what the world considered acceptable and when you go outside of it the world takes notice and has a tendency of punishing those leaders when they break those rules.

 

So, the ends justify the means?

Blimey, that's a dangerous one to play with. I wonder just how many innocent children you'd torture to death in order to convince their parent to spill the beans.

I simply can't imagine what it's like to be a person who'd even contemplate such a thing. But then again, as I said; I'm not evil.

 

Torture:

Is wrong

Is Illegal

Doesn't work

Damages the perpetrators

 

Well, evidently there are plenty of people on this forum who won't let such petty quibbles stop them...

 

There are often unpleasant consequences for doing the right thing. It needs to be done anyway.

If anyone turns them into monsters it will be people who think like you, by sacrificing their loved ones on the altar of civil rights for savages.

Those who understand that we do unpleasant things for just cause will trust us, and our enemies will fabricate reasons not to. Always been that way, always will be.

I don't suppose it occurs to you to wonder how many people have died every bit as horribly in the "savagery" of "legitimate" battle as they would have had they been tortured to death.

Actually nothing separates any soldier worthy of the name from being a killer. It's his job.

Really? You think ISIS is seen as an extraordinary threat because it kills people?

Really??

 

I would like everyone to take note of everything yguy has said in this thread. Really evaluate it and absorb the statements. Because his reasoning is the exact rationalization used by almost every soldier, commander, and leader throughout history while committing the most heinous atrocities the world has seen. They justified it as to save their fellow soldiers, for the good of the state, to protect their people, in the name of God. What ever cause they have decided trumps their humanity and in what ever way they need to justify things so they sleep at night. History is ripe with "I just followed orders" and "I did what I had to do."

Who knows maybe his way is the only way and marching those peasants into the woods is needed to protect the people from their vile influence. But maybe there is another option.

 

Nope, pretty cut and dry; some things are always wrong. You know, like torture, or rape.

Of course they are extreme cases, because this isn't really an issue when it comes to jaywalking, is it?

And this isn't hypothetical; torturing family members, raping children, all these are things done for the purpose of coercion.

Heck, the US president said that the US should go after innocent family members of terrorists.

You are dodging. Just answer the simple question; would you torture a terrorist's child to death in order to obtain information?

I'm not surprised. It's called "Cognitive dissonance". And it's not exactly unheard of when it comes to the military.

You're just trying to rationalize things which are wrong.

And more rationalizing. So far, all you've come up with is that it's perfectly fine when you do it to someone else, but awful when you're the victim.

 

Let me know how comfortable you are with Torture after you have been tortured

What you mean is that you are comfortable torturing others but, have no respect for the Golden rule or the main principle on which this nation was founded.

 

Go back to Reddit

 

Congratulations on finally saying something intelligent.

I doubt that; but it doesn't matter a lick one way or the other, seeing any true statement can serve as justification for any atrocity, given nothing more than a convenient additional premise or two.

 

You won't say "Never" to torturing an innocent child.

I rest my case.

 

Such a child will have no loyalty to terrorist parents, so torture is unnecessary.

 

This country was founded on killing Indians and stealing their land.

 

As is the case with the founding of all nations .. a nonsense comment however with respect to the topic.

 

Who gave them the land?

oh, and Indians are every bit as good at torture as we are.

 

We're no worse than any other country. We've done everything just about right in the USA.