In Greek mythology we are told that Zeus gave Pandora a large jar with instructions not to open it. But, Pandora had also been given the gift of curiosity. Pandora opened the jar. When she did, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar. No one has ever been able to put those afflictions back in the box. As I listen to the disclosures about the torture and interrogation techniques that my government has done in my name, supposedly to keep me safe, I am reminded of the story of Pandora.
Since records began they tell the appalling story of torture. A tour of the Tower of London is incomplete without an inspection of the instruments used in Medieval England to obtain information. Similar establishments can be visited in most European capitals and the Spanish Inquisition is synonymous with use of horrific techniques to encourage reluctant suspects to confirm their accusers’ suspicions – regardless of the veracity of those suspicions. For a time, it seemed that human civilization might be advancing because many states, USA included, denounced the use of torture. This hope was reinforced when State sponsored oppression by those of the Gestapo and the Kempi Tai were tried for war crimes after World War II. But the belief that torture is an effective technique in getting information seems impossible to rebut. Torture was as widespread among the right-wing regimes in South America as it was among the left wing governments in Eastern Europe. Now, the contagion has spread into the policies of our democracy.
Of course, we Americans don’t torture. We secure prisoners in “stress positions” – maybe like those in the engraving here that I copied from an early 18th century book on Christian martyrs. We “simulate” drowning and threaten prisoners’ mothers or children. We do this all in the name of protecting democracy, freedom of speech and the American dream. But does it bring any security?
Torture is often justified by the “ticking bomb” scenario. This supposes that the authorities know that a prisoner possesses information that can save large numbers of innocent people from imminent destruction. This is the ultimate “end justifies the means” situation: a situation that can be used by every petty bureaucrat (and even our recent Vice President.) It is also a justification that can turn torture into a normal and accepted procedure. We now face a real danger that bureaucrats will see torture as just another interrogation technique to be routinely used to make sure that “nothing is missed”. It could even lead to a situation where bureaucrats who fail to order torture might be accused of failing to use all reasonable methods to safeguard the public.
There was one good gift in Pandora's Box - hope. I hope we might have a way to banish the evil of torture from our nation. That way is to repudiate the evil that has been done in our name and to deny that the “end can ever justify the means” especially when those means are the antithesis of everything we hold valuable. We need to apply the same legal standards to those who participated in these violations of civilized behavior as we did in 1945. We need to guarantee that authorizing or using torture will end the career of ay bureaucrat who even considers it.
Since records began they tell the appalling story of torture. A tour of the Tower of London is incomplete without an inspection of the instruments used in Medieval England to obtain information. Similar establishments can be visited in most European capitals and the Spanish Inquisition is synonymous with use of horrific techniques to encourage reluctant suspects to confirm their accusers’ suspicions – regardless of the veracity of those suspicions. For a time, it seemed that human civilization might be advancing because many states, USA included, denounced the use of torture. This hope was reinforced when State sponsored oppression by those of the Gestapo and the Kempi Tai were tried for war crimes after World War II. But the belief that torture is an effective technique in getting information seems impossible to rebut. Torture was as widespread among the right-wing regimes in South America as it was among the left wing governments in Eastern Europe. Now, the contagion has spread into the policies of our democracy.
Of course, we Americans don’t torture. We secure prisoners in “stress positions” – maybe like those in the engraving here that I copied from an early 18th century book on Christian martyrs. We “simulate” drowning and threaten prisoners’ mothers or children. We do this all in the name of protecting democracy, freedom of speech and the American dream. But does it bring any security?
Torture is often justified by the “ticking bomb” scenario. This supposes that the authorities know that a prisoner possesses information that can save large numbers of innocent people from imminent destruction. This is the ultimate “end justifies the means” situation: a situation that can be used by every petty bureaucrat (and even our recent Vice President.) It is also a justification that can turn torture into a normal and accepted procedure. We now face a real danger that bureaucrats will see torture as just another interrogation technique to be routinely used to make sure that “nothing is missed”. It could even lead to a situation where bureaucrats who fail to order torture might be accused of failing to use all reasonable methods to safeguard the public.
There was one good gift in Pandora's Box - hope. I hope we might have a way to banish the evil of torture from our nation. That way is to repudiate the evil that has been done in our name and to deny that the “end can ever justify the means” especially when those means are the antithesis of everything we hold valuable. We need to apply the same legal standards to those who participated in these violations of civilized behavior as we did in 1945. We need to guarantee that authorizing or using torture will end the career of ay bureaucrat who even considers it.
