: Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:11 pm  

Re torture..

I once saw a television programme called "Karachi Cops". It was a fly-on-the-wall documentary following the Pakistani Police.

They had a suspected car thief in custody who wouldn't confess. So they made him stand with his arms outstretched and every time he lowered them he was struck with a riding crop type instrument.

Eventually he confessed and the "interrogating" officer looked at the camera with a wry smile and declared, "see, I told you he was guilty".

I nearly cried with embarrasment.

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:39 am  

View from the full back wrote:

Re torture..

I once saw a television programme called "Karachi Cops". It was a fly-on-the-wall documentary following the Pakistani Police.

They had a suspected car thief in custody who wouldn't confess. So they made him stand with his arms outstretched and every time he lowered them he was struck with a riding crop type instrument.

Eventually he confessed and the "interrogating" officer looked at the camera with a wry smile and declared, "see, I told you he was guilty".

I nearly cried with embarrasment.

I agree with your summary but I don't think interrogators of terrorists are after that type of answer. I would assume that they want more detailed information that can be cross referenced and corroborated. The dangers are:
1) They try to force the answer that they seek.
2) The terrorists have pre prepared and deeply engrained fall back stories.

Interrogation is a science of techniques from the brutal and physical to the sophisticated psychological and "chemical". Interrogators have to be highly skilled to get true answers.

What you saw in "Karachi Kops" clearly fell under 1)

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:42 am  

girl power wrote:

A very simple question to the liberal softies on here.

I think you've been reading the Daily Mail to much

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:27 am  

AJ seeing as you asked what my question was which I appear to not have posted, quite simply in order to avoid a potential terrorist attack do you agree that all means possible should be used to get information if there is a suspicion that someone knows the information or to wait until an attack is done then criticise the security services for not acting on it in the first place.

I cannot believe the amount of folk that are way to lenient on terrorism its not a game folk get killed by the hundreds in attacks.

By the way I read the mirror it gives me something to reflect on

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:36 am  

girl power wrote:

AJ seeing as you asked what my question was which I appear to not have posted, quite simply in order to avoid a potential terrorist attack do you agree that all means possible should be used to get information

No.

Society has to have boundaries.

If you give people carte blanche to do as they like, then they end up becoming extremists themselves.

Torture does not work, it's counter productive.

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:42 am  

So AJ you are prepared to have innocent folk killed because we should be nice to terrorists, no wonder we are seen as a soft touch, I agree to a point re boundaries but terrorists have no boundaries and should be treated with all tools available.

I have no qualms about someone suffering if it means for an example avoiding a repeat of London, Madrid bombings.

We might as well all just bend over to let the terrorists and followers well and truly shaft folk.

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:50 am  

How do you know they are guilty?

How do you know they are a terrorist?

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:52 am  

girl power wrote:

So AJ you are prepared to have innocent folk killed because we should be nice to terrorists

Cracking misquote by the way.

I suppose I also said we should give them sweeties?

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:01 am  

Some light reading: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2302-2005Jan11.html http://www.philosophers.co.uk/cafe/provocations20.htm

Some light reading: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2302-2005Jan11.html http://www.philosophers.co.uk/cafe/provocations20.htm

: Tue Dec 08, 2009 1:54 pm  

aj cougar wrote: Some light reading: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2302-2005Jan11.html http://www.philosophers.co.uk/cafe/provocations20.htm Interesting articles, but they are written by professionals who are trying to "sell" their point of view. It would be interesting to see similar thoughts from those with the opposite view. I think we need to understand that there is a big difference between torture and interrogation with a blurring of the edges where the two meet. I wonder if terrorists use torture?

aj cougar wrote: Some light reading: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2302-2005Jan11.html http://www.philosophers.co.uk/cafe/provocations20.htm Interesting articles, but they are written by professionals who are trying to "sell" their point of view. It would be interesting to see similar thoughts from those with the opposite view. I think we need to understand that there is a big difference between torture and interrogation with a blurring of the edges where the two meet. I wonder if terrorists use torture?