4 ms·
Simulated phone interviews with volunteer participants? British police being aggressive short of torture? These all assume we can learn something about torture
by brownbat 9y ago
Simulated phone interviews with volunteer participants? British police being aggressive short of torture?
These all assume we can learn something about torture by studying interviewers that are a bit standoffish. Some might not find that compelling, despite the editorialized headlines.
Regardless, effectiveness still seems like a red herring to me. Why not just focus on morality?
- QAPereo 9y agoMorality is complicated and relative across cultures, efficacy is not. Efficacy can be demonstrated, or not, in an empirical manner.
- brownbat 9y agoFair point. I found Brennan's memo fascinating. He says there were clear intel gains from EIT, but... I was initially tempted to dismiss him as protecting his agency or preserving some authority, but the memo subtly trashes the agency, and more explicitly argues it should never use these techniques again due to ethical considerations. Congress counters there were other ways to learn the info, but doesn't dispute there was actionable intel gained. (And, sure, there's always another way to learn anything in hindsight.) As a compromise on efficacy, I could be convinced that, despite rare successes, almost no one knows how to do this effectively, so no one should. Not quite as satisfyingly general, but a start.