Barnes@LHS
  • AP Euro
    • Activity Websites >
      • "Leaders of Men" Activity
      • "Fantasy Christianity": The Protestants vs. The Catholics
      • Thirty Years War: Eyewitnesses To Horror
      • "Colonial Expansion" Activity
      • Absolute Monarch "Stock Market" Simulation
      • The Great "Fate" Debate: The English Civil War
      • "Bow Tie Flip" Activity
      • French Revolution HEADLINES Activity
      • Napoleon's Paris
      • Napoleonic "Praise or Infamy" Activity
      • 1848: National Powder Kegs
      • "Step Forward, Step Backward" Activity
      • "Strong Borders, Strong Governments" Industrialization Activity
      • "Industry and the People" Analysis
      • "White Australia" Immigration Activity
      • Imperialism: Rationale, Criticism, and Response
      • World War I: A Gallery Walk
      • "Age of Anxiety": Art, Literature, and Thought
      • Sachsenhausen: The Model Camp
      • Stasiland: Life Behind 'The Wall'
  • U.S. Government
    • Activity Websites >
      • U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights: IN PLAIN ENGLISH
      • "Voting History" Activity
      • "Political Socialization" Activity
      • Media and The Government - The Right to Know
      • That's My Congress?!
      • Lobby Infographics
      • Electoral College Activity
      • "Keep It / Cut It" Cabinet Positions Activity
      • "Court Leanings" Activity
      • "Power Through Precedence" Supreme Court Activity
      • UBER: Supply & Demand
      • "Sacred Cows" Budget Cutting Analysis
      • "A Guy Walks Into a Bar..." / U.S. Government Services Activity
      • "Good GDP" Activity
      • Rubber Bands: Global Crises Explained
      • Obamacare: The Obama Legacy
      • U.N. Debate Activity
      • Zombie Apocalypse Activity
      • "American Immigration" Activity
      • American Foreign Policy - "Why We Fight"
      • American Foreign Policy - "Through The Eyes of a Cartoonist"
      • Make MONEY, MAKE Money!
      • "Life Lines" Activity

Does the United States use, and Encourage, Torture?

In a word, yes, the United States does use torture. After World War II, the world agreed to follow the Geneva Convention to prevent other tragedies like those committed against the Jews. According to the agreement, Articles 3 and 75:
  • prohibit torture and "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment".
So, yes, torture is prohibited. But we still do it!
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​In 2004, stories surfaced of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad, Iraq. Lynndie England was at the center of the controversy, as she appeared in most pictures.
For placing dog leashes on prisoners, forcing them to engage in homosexual acts with each other, and forcing them to ​smear their bodies with their own feces, Lynndie England was eventually found guilty in 2005 of one count of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating detainees and one count of committing an indecent act. She received a dishonorable discharge and three (3) years in prison.

But does punishing someone who tortured Iraqi citizens prevent it from happening? Hard to tell.

And what about "torture" that's "legal"? The United States doesn't engage in all forms of torture, but should it still engage in "legal" forms of torture, like "waterboarding"​?
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During the early years of the War on Terror under George W. Bush, George Tenet asked if he had permission to use enhanced interrogation techniques including waterboarding on Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the so-called "mastermind" of the 9/11 Attacks who was captured in 2003. George Bush recalls "I thought about my meeting with Danny Pearl's widow, who was pregnant with his son when he was murdered. I thought about the 2,971 people stolen from their families by al Qaeda on 9/11. And I thought about my duty to protect my country from another act of terror."
Did he give permission to "waterboard" Mohammed? "Damn right," he said. Mohammad was "waterboarded" at least 83, but up to 181 times. 
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Waterboarding, shown during the Vietnam War, above, is a torturous method where an individual is held down, a rag is placed over his face and mouth, and water is poured on their face to trick the brain into panic mode, thinking that its drowning. Usually, people "confess" to whatever information necessary to avoid being waterboarded routinely. 
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Yes, Mohammad was waterboarded. And yes, Iraqi prisoners were put on dog leases.

Are you glad you know that now? Does that make you a better American citizen? Or, are you just gonna forget it about it tomorrow?
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