TORTURING TERRORISTS

TORTURING TERRORISTS: Richard Cohen discusses the merits of this in his WaPo column today. I think it’s a horrible idea. Not because it’s morally unjustifiable but because it won’t work. For one thing, information obtained under torture is virtually worthless, since people will say anything to stop the pain. For another, we’ve learned from our experiences with prisoners of war that people are a hell of a lot more likely to surrender to you if they know they’ll be treated humanely.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.