Does torture get results?

Question

I think no, after horrific pain I know I would say anything to get the pain to stop.

So is it a very unproductive way to get 'intelligence'?

As most the facts are not facts!

Drill my teeth, I'll admit to anything to not suffer!

Answer 1

I agree with you. It's false results.  

Answer 2

The fear of torture works but torture itself doesn't.  

Answer 3

To gain a confession its a waste of time.   To get information, it works.

Answer 4

Actually, if our stupendous American forefathers had wanted to carry on the same kind of treatment they experienced at the hands of the British, they would have set up America that way.  THEY DIDN'T.  

And anybody who doesn't like the way our forefathers created America (I include those persons who enjoy dual israeli-American citizenship), you email me, and I'll arrange to help you pack your bags.  We don't need your kind on our shores.  Perhaps you can locate a communist or n**i country where you'd rather live.  Some cop or soldier over there is torturing people virtually every day.

Torture falls under cruel and unusual punishment.  Our forefathers - who have proven they're far bigger and better (not to mention more honorable) men than ANY OF THE POLITICIANS we've seen in our lifetimes - knew torture served no actual purpose, other than for the enjoyment of the torturer.

Now you be sure to contact me, y'hya.

Answer 5

Any idiot with an ounce of common sense knows that there is a period of time after the capture of an enemy combatant that usable information can be extracted though methods of intimidation, torture or even the threat of it.  

After this period of time when an individual can assess his situation, his information gets old and he realizes he is now useless is when phony information comes into play.

The answer is yes. Torture is highly effective for a short duration, but that is all.  

Answer 6

If you had custody of someone who had planted a bomb at your son's football game, what would you do? I know what I'd do, and it has nothing to do about negotating.

Answer 7

You're right.  It doesn't get results.  You torture someone long enough and they'll admit to anything.

Answer 8

it does, in a limited fashion.  however the FEAR of torture probably does more to subdue our enemies.

Answer 9

It is effective for brainwashing and for creating scape goats.

Why did you bomb the Oklahoma Murrah building?

What are you talking about I didn't do it...

*Punches Detainee* Why did you kill all those innocent people?

I already told you I didn't do it!...

*Punches Detainee again, but harder* Why did you bomb the Murrah building?

...

(5 days later)

Did you bomb the Murrah building?

Yes!

Who helped you?

I was alone.

What did you use?

A Ryder truck filled with explosives.

...

Answer 10

The results are not reliable but it does provide training and employment for psychopaths.

Answer 11

It gets results OK! But does it get the right answers?People will say anything under torture!

Answer 12

Generally torture will give those results the investigator(torturer) wants.

There are cases when the info will be correct, but there are cases when the tortured  person can take tremendous amount of pain and still don't say a word.

History is full of the examples of both.

Spanish inquisition extracted confessions by torture, so did witch hunters later in many countries. Were all those people heretics or real witches? Of course not..

As for the Russian SWAT's fabulous results using torture. Same story there. That is true, in Russia beating (and sometimes killing in the process) and torture is normal practice of investigation.

Back in 80s when notorious serial killer Chikotillo was on the rampage killing around 60 victims in10+ years Russian militia using the same techniques extracted confessions from several people and they were executed for Chikotilo's crimes.

That should give you an example how effective the torture is.

Another problem is that once police or army starts torturing, because it's much easier than real investigative work they tend to resort to torture in all cases. Long term damage is much worse in the end. Instead of investigating and analyzing facts they just beat the desired results out of the detainees.

Desired results very often have nothing to do with real facts and implications can and will be very negative.

Answer 13

you've answered your own question there, I agree with you.

Answer 14

You're right.  We should just execute all out prisoners like our enemy does.

Answer 15

It definitely gets results, but it creates even more enemies than you had before. Take the US and water boarding. Sure it can reveal answers to prevent atrocities, but how many more terrorists will be converted as a result of this?  

Answer 16

you don't understand, sure inflicting pain might get fake answers but the guys interviewing them know how to tell if they are lying.  its all about getting the answers, then doing cross checks.  

also, torture is defined differently by everybody.  left wing liberals would call sleep deprivation torture, or not powdering the terrorists behinds before putting them to bed.

Answer 17

the pentagon did an in-depth study right after the Korean conflict cease fire occurred and they concluded that torture does not yield reliable intel yet the same pentagon willingly uses intel gotten from torture to try and convict "illegal enemy combatants". In fact, some of their field text on "aggressive interrogation methods" comes straight from war crime trials over the very methods being used. But lets not forget, although the pentagon passed the order down, it's approval came from the Whitehouse.

ADDED: One thing I see with those that are okay with torture is the presumption that the victim has info to give and is the enemy. Over 600 I.E.C. have been held though the history of Gitmo but today the number is in the 200's with only one trial having been completed. This means that 300 to 400 people were swept up that we didn't have enough evidence on to try even in the kangaroo court they set up. I'd like to know how these people feel about torturing truly innocent people that had the misfortune to have the war come to them and haul them away or be sold out by their neighbor for the 10 years worth of income we paid per head as a bounty.

Answer 18

It can work if you have something to check it against and have the diagnostics as well to see what is and is not the truth, even a little bit of info can lead to more. Your right, it is a thing that quickly gets diminishing returns but it does work to a point as long as you have the tools to verify it, now a days it is far easier to verify that info with the technology we have. The things that the US does are more along the lines of dis-orientation; ie; sleep deprivation, exhaustion, fear, body language, etc...this is more effective than actual torture since it causes confusion and the POW tends to s***w up or break down from that confusion, water boarding is about as physical as it gets, hardly what I would consider the equal to burning, electrodes, be-headings, chopping off of limbs, genitals, etc...that being said, it can also be counter-productive in an insurgency and used as propaganda against our goals. So, if you go the hard route, ie; water boarding and actual physical torture then it is silly to do it unless it is a crisis that is worth losing the long war.

Phoenix, please feel free to contact me ;-)

Alan, the people that were released were deemed not to be a danger, many of them wound up back in Afghanistan fighting us, please stop with the myth that a lot of innocents were swept up and sent to Gitmo, it is simply not the fact. Many of the ones currently being held are due to the fact that many of the host nations do not want them back in there own prison systems, read something else besides the NYT or Mother Jones. Second, the methods being used are taken from a some of the things the Chinese used to do to us and that we do to our own people in SERE School, I saw that show too and have been to SERE, so please, it works when you have something to gauge it.

Answer 19

Torture is a crime. But let face it, it's productive most of the time. What they say, "no pain, no gain"? :P im jokin a lil bit here. Plz forgive me :D

Answer 20

That is a matter of personal opinion.

I think it is fairly effective when done correctly both executing the Mental and Physical together.  

Answer 21

you don't have to physically touch someone to torture them so yes i do agree with torture

Answer 22

Trust me, if someone is pulling your toenails out with pliers, unless you are a highly trained individual you will sing whichever tune the guy asking the questions wants you to.

And as numerous different nations have established without doubt throughout the years, torture extracted evidence is patchy in its accuracy at best. You would swear your mother was Adolf Hitler if they wanted you to.

In short, I agree.

Answer 23

You sort of answered your own question there. Yes, it's true that people will say anything, but sometimes that "anything" involves telling the truth or revealing a plan. It just depends on the person, and there are people who are good enough to tell when what was admitted to was a lie...even if it's what they wanted to hear.

Torture has been a long time thing and is currently still being practiced (the US gets a lot of hassle for torture rumors, but there are countries that still do it today but no one complains for some reason), but I think a happy medium needs to be reached. It's just hard to bluff that you're going to kill someone when they think their death = martyrdom, you know? I know that Russian SWAT teams run around and beat information out of people, and they get FABULOUS results from it. I mean, it's amazing. Things that would take the US forever to accomplish they can literally do in a matter of hours. I'm not saying we should make this kind of brutality acceptable, but I am saying that you can't deny it gets results...that's why a happy medium needs to be found.

Answer 24

i've always gotten good results with my clamps and whips..

Answer 25

it depends what results you want, if like the Americans you have already decided some one is guilty, because of their name or skin colour then yes, you just have to force them to admit to it, be it 9/11 or global warming