Should the U.S. Military Be Allowed to Use Torture?
by Harry Browne January 11, 2005 As you know, the Bush administration has been under fire for its use of torture and it has become apparent that torture has pervaded the U.S. military’s activities not just at Abu Ghraib, but also in other parts of Iraq, in Afghanistan, at Guantanamo, and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the argument over the use of torture has focused on whether the nature of terrorism justifies its use: Terrorists do terrible things, so why should they have any rights? And why not use torture against terrorists who might be able to provide information that could prevent another terrorist attack? Opponents of torture answer “no” but they do it on the grounds that this is contrary to international law (which could open the door to wider use of torture by our enemies), and that it is inhumane to use torture even if the person being tortured is a terrorist. In all the arguing over the presumed rights of a terrorist, one thing is being overlooked: no one knows for sure whether th
