The New York Times reports that “a group of experts advising the intelligence agencies are arguing that the harsh techniques used since the 2001 terrorist attacks are outmoded, amateurish and unreliable.â€
The psychologists and other specialists, commissioned by the Intelligence Science Board, make the case that more than five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has yet to create an elite corps of interrogators trained to glean secrets from terrorism suspects.
While billions are spent each year to upgrade satellites and other high-tech spy machinery, the experts say, interrogation methods — possibly the most important source of information on groups like Al Qaeda — are a hodgepodge that date from the 1950s, or are modeled on old Soviet practices.
Molded on old Soviet practices? Well, I am sure it will make many people proud to know that the US used the same interrogation ‘techniques’ as the Soviets did.
And guess what, torture does not work:
In a blistering lecture delivered last month, a former adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called “immoral†some interrogation tactics used by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon.
But in meetings with intelligence officials and in a 325-page initial report completed in December, the researchers have pressed a more practical critique: there is little evidence, they say, that harsh methods produce the best intelligence.
“There’s an assumption that often passes for common sense that the more pain imposed on someone, the more likely they are to comply,†said Randy Borum, a psychologist at the University of South Florida who, like several of the study’s contributors, is a consultant for the Defense Department.
Good Lord, have we learned nothing from history? There were thousands of women who admitted to be witches back in the dark ages, after being tortured for hours, even days. The average person would admit to just about everything after being tortured, just to make the pain go away. At a certain moment a person would rather be killed, than endure torture for one minute longer.
It is simple: torture is immoral and “there is little evidence that harsh methods produce the best intelligence.†1+1=2: no modern government should use torture (or use ‘enhanced interrogation techniques,’ which means exactly the same thing) against anyone. Whether the one being interrogated is suspected of being a murderer, a thief, or a terrorist: torture is never acceptable.
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