America's tortured conscience
Have we gone too far?
Mark Bullock
Issue date: 11/28/05 Section: Opinion
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According to the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Although this amendment is vague, at best, many have recently stood against actions taken by the U.S. military and organizations such as the CIA, making claims of unconstitutional techniques to acquire information along with violations of basic human rights and the Geneva Convention.
At the tip of this spear, resides Senator John McCain. During his term of service in Vietnam, Lieutenant McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese and tortured. The senator claims that interrogation tactics that would be considered torture will, more often than not, produce false intelligence while undermining this nation's values and moral code. So what then, is torture?
With mention of the word, images of medieval racks and water tortures are conjured in our minds. Religious zealots in righteous fervor seem to be the stereotypical culprits of these depraved actions; however, in these modern times, what exactly could be defined as 'cruel and unusual'? Would the excessive use of techniques considered cruel, thereby eliminate the 'unusual' clause of the Eighth Amendment? Would the framers of our Constitution feel justified in the techniques used for gaining information in the war on terror?
In December, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved a list of interrogation techniques for the acquisition of information from what have been considered 'uncooperative' prisoners. The list, which was revised and re-released April 2003, includes the following: sleep "adjustment," grabbing/poking/pushing inmates, Good cop/Bad cop routines, intense questioning, and exposure to unpleasant smells.
The original list, released in 2002, contained seven other techniques deemed "inappropriate," such as prolonged standing, sensory deprivation, prolonged interrogations, shaving of beards (particularly insulting to the Islamic faith), use of phobias, removal of clothing, and the hooding of prisoners during questioning. Although removed from the updated 2003 list, all of these techniques were noted as approvable with the permission of Rumsfeld himself.
At the tip of this spear, resides Senator John McCain. During his term of service in Vietnam, Lieutenant McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese and tortured. The senator claims that interrogation tactics that would be considered torture will, more often than not, produce false intelligence while undermining this nation's values and moral code. So what then, is torture?
With mention of the word, images of medieval racks and water tortures are conjured in our minds. Religious zealots in righteous fervor seem to be the stereotypical culprits of these depraved actions; however, in these modern times, what exactly could be defined as 'cruel and unusual'? Would the excessive use of techniques considered cruel, thereby eliminate the 'unusual' clause of the Eighth Amendment? Would the framers of our Constitution feel justified in the techniques used for gaining information in the war on terror?
In December, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved a list of interrogation techniques for the acquisition of information from what have been considered 'uncooperative' prisoners. The list, which was revised and re-released April 2003, includes the following: sleep "adjustment," grabbing/poking/pushing inmates, Good cop/Bad cop routines, intense questioning, and exposure to unpleasant smells.
The original list, released in 2002, contained seven other techniques deemed "inappropriate," such as prolonged standing, sensory deprivation, prolonged interrogations, shaving of beards (particularly insulting to the Islamic faith), use of phobias, removal of clothing, and the hooding of prisoners during questioning. Although removed from the updated 2003 list, all of these techniques were noted as approvable with the permission of Rumsfeld himself.
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