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mk  ·  3634 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Even If Torture Doesn't Work In The Real World, TV Has Us Convinced It Does

This whole debate seems to be framed as "Should we ask the CIA to torture for us?". When it comes to matters of ethics and human rights, then yes, it should be. However, the CIA have a job to do, and they have all the resources they need to do it professionally. The fact that we tortured these individuals is a major failing of the CIA. The Bush Administration failed us, but the CIA is supposed to be a professional agency that has expertise that the politicians do not. They know that torture doesn't provide good information, and for that reason, they should have pushed back against every suggestion that they do so. If it was intelligence that they were after, then they should not have tortured.

Not only should people be held accountable for torture, but they should be held accountable for failing to use the best methods for information discovery when they had every chance to.