A new analysis in the California Law Review, the student-run publication of the University of California at Berkeley’s law school, argues that flaws in the student editing system in that same journal paved the way for John Yoo to publish a career-launching article in 1996. The article set forth a dubious legal basis for practices like waterboarding, which Yoo later applied to U.S. policy as the Bush administration official chiefly responsible for the infamous “torture memos.” A critical look at the article by any mainstream historian, though, would have thrown cold water on Yoo’s ... Read More
What Is Torture? We Know It (Only) When We Feel It
April 12, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
The definition of torture has become somewhat fuzzy in the post-9/11 world. According to the United Nations 1984 Convention on Torture, which was ratified by more than 150 nations, the practice of torture involves “the infliction of severe physical or mental pain or suffering.” In other words, whether or not a specific technique constitutes torture is determined by the level of pain it produces. But how good are we at estimating the amount of agony a particular action will produce? Newly published research suggests the answer is: not good at all. According to a research team led by ... Read More
For Some, Might Torture Be Its Own Reward?
November 19, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Torture. It's an ugly word. Its mere mention conjures images of sadistic villains in dark dungeons or shadowy terrorists in sparse rooms, illuminated by a single light bulb overhead. But regardless of what mental image, it is usually the evil side that tortures the side of good. In recent years, such thinking has shifted as "enhanced interrogation" has been touted as acceptable for getting answers so that good people won't be hurt. But that still assumed that the purpose of torture is to derive vital information. For example, Jack Bauer, the counterterrorism agent in the television show ... Read More
Prisoners of the States
July 1, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
In March 2004, the Abu Ghraib scandal seared unsightly images of prisoner abuse into the consciousness of a new generation of Americans. The allegations blindsided citizens who — galvanized by the specter of a nuclear Saddam — had been mostly supportive of the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. Not since the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam 42 years earlier had so many questioned whether the nation held higher moral ground than its enemies. Despite the courts-martial of the guards involved, the ensuing media frenzy only muddled the policy debate regarding the status of "unlawful combatants." The ... Read More
