Hater Depot
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:12 am Post subject: Why I'm against torture. |
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I've posted this before but I think it is relevant considering the sham bill which just got passed.
Simply put, I think if you are pro-torture you are not serious about defeating terrorism. Historically the use of torture has led to unreliable intelligence; an exodus of competent professionals from police and intelligence agencies; and a reduction in international prestige, which is necessary to create soft power -- the only real way to win a war like this one.
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Apart from sheer frustration and other adrenaline-related emotions, investigators and detectives in hot pursuit have enormous temptation to use force to break the will of their prey because they believe that, metaphorically speaking, they have a "ticking bomb" case on their hands. But, much as a good hunter trains his hounds to bring the game to him rather than eating it, a good ruler has to restrain his henchmen from devouring the prey lest he be left empty-handed. Investigation is a subtle process, requiring patience and fine analytical ability, as well as a skill in cultivating one's sources. When torture is condoned, these rare talented people leave the service, having been outstripped by less gifted colleagues with their quick-fix methods, and the service itself degenerates into a playground for sadists. Thus, in its heyday, Joseph Stalin's notorious NKVD (the Soviet secret police) became nothing more than an army of butchers terrorizing the whole country but incapable of solving the simplest of crimes. And once the NKVD went into high gear, not even Stalin could stop it at will. He finally succeeded only by turning the fury of the NKVD against itself; he ordered his chief NKVD henchman, Nikolai Yezhov (Beria's predecessor), to be arrested together with his closest aides. |
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