Torture or Coercion?

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at Mark Bowden's ideas in his book, "The Art of Interrogation" where he notes the difference between torture and coercion. The paper then discusses how it is an age of violence in the world and in the entertainment industry and so it is not surprising to hear Washington politicians rationalize, backtrack, dip into semantics and find euphemisms that work well when it comes to issues of torture. The paper contends that when Bush says, "We don't torture," he is drawing a line between the truth and what he wants the public to know.

From the Paper:

"Drawing the line between what is torture and what is coercion, on one level, is an exercise in semantics. Mark Bowden, in his book, The Art of Interrogation, explores all the various words and their semantic applications at they apply to torture. There is enough material within the discussion of torture - and the people who torture, who have been tortured, human-rights activists, among others - for Bowden to fill a whole book. He says the public has a simplistic understanding of torture, and that may be true but does lack of knowledge on the part of citizens make it okay to torture captured enemy soldiers in any context? And why would the public - especially in the U.S., a democratic nation that has not hitherto been known to torture prisoners - know much at all about torture in the first place?"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dryer, Alexander Barnes. "The Truth About Torture." The Atlantic. Retrieved February 25,2008, from http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200309u/int2003-09-11.
• O'Grady, Jane. "Elizabeth Anscombe." Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2008, fromhttp://www.guardian.co.uk.
• Shane, Scott. "Torture justification memos under ethical review." The Mercury-News. Retrieved February 26, 2008, from http://www.mercurynews.com. (2008).
• Thomas, Helen. "Bush legacy already established." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved February 24, 2008, from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com.

More papers on Torture or Coercion?:

• Analytical Essay # 144351 : "Eugenics in Puerto Rico: Choice Or Coercion?"
• Argumentative Essay # 105594 : "Torture Defined"
• Argumentative Essay # 130830 : "Torture and Rendition: An Analysis of Justification"

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