There is a problem in America right now, and that problem is torture. The government just recently released a report detailing the CIA’s torture of prisoners captured by them at black sites and prisons all around the world. People are split in the U.S. on whether the torture of these prisoners was right and justified. Some people think torture is always justified, because the people we capture deserve no better, but others think that it should absolutely never be used because it makes us no better than the terrorists we capture. All in all, torture should never be used in any situation, as it leaves deep emotional and mental scars that may never heal, it is not as effective as other interrogation techniques, and it gives other countries/groups reason to dislike us to the point that they may create terror in America in retaliation to us torturing their fellow countrymen or group members, thus making us wonder if it was really worth it.

Torture is the worst thing one man can do to another, and it leaves serious deep mental scars. Proof of this is the story of Tarek Dergoul, a British citizen who was captured by the U.S and was tortured. Here is a section of his story; “ I was in extreme pain and could barely stand. They questioned me at gunpoint and said if I confessed, I could go home. They had already searched me and my cell twice that day, gone through my stuff, touched my Koran(Islamic Holy Book) and felt my body around my private parts...then I heard a guard talking into his radio, “ERF, ERF, ERF,” and I knew what was coming. The five cowards I called them, five guys in riot gear. They ran in, pepper sprayed me in the face, and I started vomiting. Then they pinned me down, poking me in the eyes, punching me, then they forced my head into the toilet pan and flushed. They tied me up like a beast and were kneeling on me, kicking and punching. Finally they dragged me out to the rec yard and shaved my beard, my hair, my eyebrows.” These things happened to him will stick with him for the rest of his life, and were so traumatic that it took him months to tell his story.(Men of the Islamic religion who are able to grow a beard are required to, and not having a beard while able to grow one is a major offence in that religion.)

Another reason torture should never be used to obtain information is that is not as effective. In a study conducted by Jane Goodman Delahunty, from the Charles Sturt University in Australia, the results proved that torturing someone was one of the least effective ways to interrogate a prisoner. The best way proven in that study was a rapport building approach, meaning that the interrogator is trying to build a connection with whomever he is interrogating. The study says, “Disclosure was 14 times more likely to occur early in an interrogation when a rapport-building approach was used. Confessions were 4 times more likely if the interrogator struck a neutral and respectful stance. Rates of detainee disclosure were also higher if the detainee was in a comfortable physical setting.” This means that prisoners who are treated well, respected, and not tortured are 14 times more likely to give information, and 4 times more likely to confess to whatever they had done. The study also says that if a detainee is in a physically comfortable place, they are more likely to give out information. All in all, this study proves in a big way that the best way to interrogate is not to torture, but to be respectful. One of the people that Jane spoke with was an interrogator for the U.S. army, and said he quickly got a confession out of an Iraqi insurgent because of a shared love of watching the T.V show 24 on bootleg DVD’s. This clearly shows that torture is blown out of the water by trying to find something in common, being respectful, or keeping a prisoner in good conditions.  

The most major reason for torture to not be used, specifically by the United States, is because it gives other anti-American groups or countries even more reason to hate us. There are already many countries with a less than healthy opinion of America, with “70% or more of citizens in each country saying they do not have an overall positive view of America”, according to the Washington Post, a highly respected news site. These are countries such as Egypt, Russia, Turkey, and Pakistan. This means that if we torture their soldiers, their allies’ soldiers, or their citizens wrongly, because we found them guilty, although they were innocent. So if we wrongly torture or imprison someone, that may create the possibility of terror attacks on America, which would lead to us capturing and torturing more people that we suspect attacked us, which will lead back to more terror attacks and so on and so forth.

In conclusion, torture is an incredibly inhumane, anti-American, ineffective, and dangerously provocative practice that should never be used by the United States. If we were to use it, it would only hurt, not help, as there are so many ways for bad things to happen or for something to go wrong. I only listed three of the reasons. Anti-American views, mental and emotional scarring, and the ineffectiveness of it are just three of the many many reasons why the U.S should not torture. But you can help change this. So call your local senator and give him the reasons that I gave, and ask them if they think it is worth it. Is it really ever worth it if it costs American lives?