The film Zero Dark Thirty shows a variety of brutal torture, or "enhanced interrogation" techniques. These torture techniques are performed on detainee's at a CIA black site in hopes to get the detainee to share valuable information about al-Qaeda. The intense and violent forms of torture performed on the detainee's raises the highly debated question, is torture in exchange for information ethical? My response to that conversational question is yes, it is ethical. I believe that the torture techniques shown in the film are justifiable because the techniques proved effective and ultimately saved many innocent lives.
The first 25 minutes of the film are largely based around the torture of black site detainee Ammar. Ammar's interrogator Dan states that Ammar was arrested for his role as a financial facilitator in the 9/11 attacks. Personally, I believe the torture of Ammar is one hundred precent ethical and justifiable considering he aided in the death of 2,977 innocent civilians.
I would like to contest the idea that the torture techniques shown in "Zero Dark Thirty" are justifiable because they yielded information for the film's protagonists. In many cases, the facts which their torture of black site detainees were skewed or misleading - something which also occurs in the real world, proving that information acquired through "enhanced interrogation" is not always to be trusted. Thus, while it is the personal ethics of an individual which determine whether or not they believe Ammar's torture to be ethical, I strongly disagree that using this method in search of information which may not even be entirely truthful can be called justifiable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Olivia, I do not believe that the method of torture to gather information is ethical. However, this can be an effective technique when they have captured the right people and ask the right questions. In the film the first prisoner, Amar, knows information and he did eventually give useful information. However, the film does not show the mnay times that someone is imprisoned even though they are innocent.
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ReplyDeleteI have trouble concluding on the morality of torturing known terrorists. On the one hand, treating another human in such a way is horrible. But on the other hand, they've had a part in doing horrible things themselves. Do they deserve it? No doubt torturing people degrades our own humanity as well; is having to do these torturous things a sacrifice of our own character for the sake of others?
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