Is torture acceptable

Answer 1

Yes - depending which side you are on. Also 'terrorism' can and is at times looked upon as the poor man's war. Don't forget, we sort of invented it for our own Revolutionary War. (With a little help from the Indians ... but most of the real atrocities were by whites.)

Answer 2

Yes, because an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. There is no other fair punishment like equal punishment. If a man or woman beats or harms another human being they should be punished the same way. You cannot truly learn good behavior by a simple slap on the wrist

Answer 3

I have no idea what you mean by justified. Historically, terrorism has worked when used by a strong army. It was an effective tool used in Sherman's march through Georgia in the American Civil War. In that case, it ended support for the troops on the front lines. It was used effectively by Genghis Kahn.

It has failed miserably when it has been used by the losing side. In the American Revolutionary War, it united the colonists to the cause of the Continental Congress of the United States. In World War 2, when the Americans invaded North Africa, Italy, and France, their reinforcements were in front of them.

Terrorism, when not supported by a powerful army, has not been effective but has united people against the terrorists.

Answer 4

In the United States, probably not. The issue becomes what is torture? Water boarding has been considered both a torture and non torture method of gathering information. It has been been only under very extreme situations and has had extremely high yield.

If the life of thousands of Americans (or actually any innocent people) are at stake, I personally have no problem with this occurring in a military setting. This is even more important a tool when dealing with extremists such as we see in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The current situation is not really addressed by this question either. The questioned water boarding (that yielded great results) did not happen "in" America. In war the rules change. In a war zone, if the torture save a buddy or family member, I would be right there with the butt of my gun trying to do what I could to save them. Yes, in that case it is justified. Arrest me later, I want them alive.

Answer 5

No, tortured is never justified. The Geneva Conventions were composed for a reason, and should maintain those laws.

Answer 6

No. I believe that in most governments e.g. he U.S. that would be "assault" and or kidnapping to do the torture if you took them away to do it forcefully.