Torture During Interrogation

Hollywood has given society the impression that torture is the effective last resort for interrogators to get crucial information. There is a cliché scenario in which a bomb is ticking somewhere and the villain will not tell the interrogator how to stop it. Reluctantly the interrogator starts using brutal torture methods until he gets the confession and saves the day. The “ticking time bomb” scenario is unrealistic and it gives a false perception to society of how interrogations really work. The United States government, and military, are home to some of most highly skilled interrogators in the world and torture is never an option for them. Torture is not a justifiable interrogation tactic because it does not yield honest answers, it goes against
American interrogators are highly trained in emotional manipulation, utilizing torture is a disgrace to the science of interrogation which has been crafted for decades. The approved U.S. Army field manual for interrogations, Field Manuel 2-22.3, lists 19 different approach strategies, and none of which involve physical harm, threats or coercion (Thomas). If torture was acceptable, who would conduct them? Would trained interrogators have to certify on the new techniques in order to show that they are proficient? Who would regulate which methods of torture were acceptable and which were not? These are all questions society should consider when lobbying for these enhanced interrogation
A study into the competencies of successful interrogators found the following, “Successful interrogation is based on understanding the motives, needs, and self-perceptions of the other in the service of developing an effective strategy for eliciting intelligence information. Effective interrogation relies on persuasion strategies used in everyday life, but produced with greater forethought, applied with greater deliberation, and maintained in the context of objectivity and social control” (Janoff-Bulman 431). This study also quoted one senior U.S. Army interrogator as saying, “Beyond the moral imperative, the competent interrogator avoids torture because it is counter-productive and unreliable. In my two decades of experience as an interrogator, I know of no competent interrogator that would resort to torture. Not one” (Janoff-Bulman