[hobbes1]

I think there are ways to motivate without physically or mentally imparing a person long term.

One, you are motivating a terrorist, not a person. These guys forfeited humanity, when they undertook the targeting of civilians.

Two, there is a time component involved in saving innocent life from possible terrorist acts.

You take a guy and put him on rice and water for a month in isolation.

And the members of his cell you didnt catch and don't know about have four weeks to kill some more innocents....

that is neither Civilized, nor intelligent.

To treat of torture like it is some unmitigated evil, is to put yourself at the mercy of those that would kill you.

[DoughtyOne]

You make some good points.  On the other hand how do you know the person you're demanding information from actually has that information?

Every excuse you use to justify mistreatment of foreign troops is an excuse they can use to mistreat ours.  Do you really want a situation that sees hundreds or thousands of our troops subjected to "anything goes" in future conflicts?

What you are supporting is the crushing of bones, joints, dismemberments, inflictions of blindness, other mutilations in the interest of information you can't be 100% certain the individual even has.

I'm not seeking to denegrate the points you made, because I happen to think they are valid and powerful.  I'm just very leary of opening up this can of worms.

 The FRN Sign Bank is Open