Torture Masquerading As Investigation
Daniela West
Mr. Sandarg
English 1102
23 March 2012
Torture
Imagine being taken by someone you do not know, and questioned ferociously about events that you are not aware of. You are questioned of these things because of who an acquaintance of yours is or by the location you just happened to be in at that moment. When you do not know anything that you are questioned of, these same people that took you are now using “enhanced interrogation techniques” upon you. These “enhanced interrogation techniques” include being hit, having screwdrivers that have been put under fire jabbed into your leg, waterboarding, threats to your life and your families’ lives, and many other things. What is being done is not interrogation. It is torture masquerading as interrogation. It is my belief that in the United States torture should have a more definite and clear definition so that it could be made illegal in all ways and that the public should also be more aware of who is affected by it, how it is used and the arguments against torture. By the World Medical Association the definition of torture is, “[T]he deliberate, systematic, and cruel infliction of physical and mental sufferings” (Hardi 134). But this is not the only definition of torture that exists. There are many different definitions for different countries. The United States itself has a definition, but it isn’t clear of what is torture if there is “no touch” (Vicaro 1). Infliction of mental sufferings is often the most debated type of torture. Many people believe that it is not torture because no physical damage is being done. Yet when someone is tortured mentally, there is permanent damage done—even if there is no physical scar left behind after the torture has been completed. Now what are the common uses of torture today? The physical uses of torture include sleep deprivation, water boarding, solitary confinement, forced nudity, exposure to cold temperatures, and other ways that physical pain is inflicted. The
Mr. Sandarg
English 1102
23 March 2012
Torture
Imagine being taken by someone you do not know, and questioned ferociously about events that you are not aware of. You are questioned of these things because of who an acquaintance of yours is or by the location you just happened to be in at that moment. When you do not know anything that you are questioned of, these same people that took you are now using “enhanced interrogation techniques” upon you. These “enhanced interrogation techniques” include being hit, having screwdrivers that have been put under fire jabbed into your leg, waterboarding, threats to your life and your families’ lives, and many other things. What is being done is not interrogation. It is torture masquerading as interrogation. It is my belief that in the United States torture should have a more definite and clear definition so that it could be made illegal in all ways and that the public should also be more aware of who is affected by it, how it is used and the arguments against torture. By the World Medical Association the definition of torture is, “[T]he deliberate, systematic, and cruel infliction of physical and mental sufferings” (Hardi 134). But this is not the only definition of torture that exists. There are many different definitions for different countries. The United States itself has a definition, but it isn’t clear of what is torture if there is “no touch” (Vicaro 1). Infliction of mental sufferings is often the most debated type of torture. Many people believe that it is not torture because no physical damage is being done. Yet when someone is tortured mentally, there is permanent damage done—even if there is no physical scar left behind after the torture has been completed. Now what are the common uses of torture today? The physical uses of torture include sleep deprivation, water boarding, solitary confinement, forced nudity, exposure to cold temperatures, and other ways that physical pain is inflicted. The