The Rand Institute - The torture debate

[Are_grits_groceries]

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been insisting again that the coercive interrogation techniques used against terrorism detainees after 9/11 prevented attacks on the United States. Protecting American security is "a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business," Cheney told Politico.com. "These are evil people. And we're not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek."

What's more, Cheney says, limitations on these interrogation techniques would endanger the American people. "There is a 'high probability' that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in the coming years," he says, "and the Obama administration's policies make it more likely the attempt will succeed."

It would be easy for Cheney's critics to dismiss these comments as an attempt to defend a controversial legacy. But as Cheney is not alone in these views, and the debate about the merits and morality of torture has manifestly not ended with the election of President Obama, his assertions merit more careful examination.

Cheney asserts that information will one day be made available proving that the interrogation methods he championed made it possible for the United States to prevent other 9/11-style attacks. Until such information is released, we have no way to judge the veracity of his claim.

Meanwhile, however, those who engage in or approve of interrogation techniques that many view as illegal or immoral must defend the efficacy of these methods. The act demands a commensurate return. If it produces nothing of great value, it descends from interrogation to mere torment.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2009/04/01/GS.html

The Rand Institute is not a liberal bastion. The article is worth a read.

[D-Lee]

1. The article REFUTES "the ends justify the means" Cheney position

The article concludes:


"A sustainable and successful counterterrorist strategy must weigh factors beyond the efficacy of coercive interrogation. In the end, the inhumane treatment of suspects feeds the false narrative of our terrorist foes, promotes their recruitment efforts, and is used to justify their acts. It erodes public support at home and among our allies for what all agree will be a long struggle against terrorists and their apologists. Effective or not, torture is bad strategy."

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Most of our foes say the USA is an international bully that demands others 'do as we say, not as we

do.' So I don't think that our using inhumane tactics would be a 'false narrative of our terrorist foes.'