Torture Debate Analysis

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Torture is now easier to justify in the context of the war on terror. Many opinions may arise when looking at whether or not we should torture potential terrorists and since there is not an actual strategy to proceed along when looking at it, the question still remains unanswered. The debate began after the incident in 9/11 had occurred and the government implemented several anti terrorism measures where justification was placed under the veil of Unitarianism. In the article “The torture debate” by Phillip Rumney and Martin O’Boyle they provide readers with complementary views on whether or not legalized systems of torture would be worth having. The authors also emphasize the issues that could result from having a torture of system since it could come with many implications. After reading this article, I believe that the author had provided enough evidence on whether or not torture would be beneficial or if it would lead to a slippery slope tragedy that would go against what they were trying to accomplish. In essence, I believe that having a torture system would only have a negative outcome and Liberal democracies should refrain from using such systems since preventing massive global issues could be more important than killing potential terrorists to protect innocent residents. Throughout the text presented the main idea seems to focus on the argument on whether or not liberal democracies should have a legalized system of torture. As for any issues there could be positive and negative aspects of perusing such a massive change. Authors Philip Rumney and Martin O’Boyle provided two main reasons to why legalization of torture has not yet been legitimate system that we could rely on. The first reason explains that once torture is being used it helps gain intelligence and continue the war on terror. However the second argument focuses more on preventing any future terrorist attack and what could be done to potentially end terrorism acts. Countries such as Israel, France and the United Kingdom promote the use of coercions to protect civilians from future attacks (citation) After many terrorist attacks you would be able to imagine how other countries feel towards their civilians and vice versa. The last thing civilians want to be is feeling unsafe in the country that promised to keep you safe from any type of harm. In addition, Mirko Bagaric and Julie Clarke have mentioned that the only way to ensure the safety of nation states then it is the best interest of the government to fulfill their duties as protectors yet the authors goes against the point made (citation). Eric Poser and Adrian Velmeule believe torture should be regulated just as the other evils within our society (citation). Individuals may have a completely different mindset due to the fact that terrorist acts seem more likely to occur if a stop is not to be made. As for the other half of the article, the main focus is …show more content…
When the author talks about the pilot shooting down a hijacked plane versus non-lethal torture, it makes it difficult for readers to differentiate between what is considered lethal or not. When the government makes such changes, individuals wait and see if the change has made a positive or negative impact on the country yet with torture there is no accurate evidence to prove whether or not it is

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