Torture option.
It is the ticking bomb scenario.
Would you approve of a less evil to prevent greater evil?
Would you approve of the torture of a Qaeda member to take place, to prevent the death of thousands innocent civilians?
This link might help set you into the mood for an answer: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/17/60minutes/main324751.shtml" target="_blank">Dershowitz: Make Torture an Option</a>
Would you approve of a less evil to prevent greater evil?
Would you approve of the torture of a Qaeda member to take place, to prevent the death of thousands innocent civilians?
This link might help set you into the mood for an answer: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/17/60minutes/main324751.shtml" target="_blank">Dershowitz: Make Torture an Option</a>
Comments
Here's what you do:
You bring in a 6'7" serial killer rapist locked up in your roughest prison and have him sit across the table.
You say, "You tell us how to stop the attack or this guy is your new roomate for the rest of your life. We'll make sure you keep alive, too, but the guards don't visit your area very often."
Lock him in the general population, tell everyone what he did and threaten everyone with 10 years if they kill him. You want him alive for a long long time in there.
Allah goes out the window real quick.
<strong>It is the ticking bomb scenario.
Would you approve of a less evil to prevent greater evil?
Would you approve of the torture of a Qaeda member to take place, to prevent the death of thousands innocent civilians?
This link might help set you into the mood for an answer: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/17/60minutes/main324751.shtml" target="_blank">Dershowitz: Make Torture an Option</a></strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, I would support torture of Al Queda.
Secondly, like Powerdoc, I can't say what I might do in an actual situation like he described. I too hope that would never happen.
Finally, the ends does not justify the means. As Americans we stand for something (or I like to think that we do), which in a nutshell, is that we believe all humans have basic rights, one of which is the right not to be tortured. If we compromise these principles, then we lose sight of who we are as Americans.
Theory is easy. Practice is difficult.