Originally posted by: Craig234
To me, "stress positions" and yelling at prisoners is NOT "torture." On the other hand, water-boarding is still up for debate...
I have no problem with yelling at detainees, as long as it's not the sort that goes on for 72 hours and is really extreme sleep deprivation. I do have a problem with 'stress positions' since they are designed to cause such pain as to coerce behavior.
Some are asking 'what is torture anyway'.
I'll offer a definition: Things falling short of torture are the uncomfortable aspects of the person being imprisoned and the situation; they're entitled to adequate food if it is possible, not to anything fancy; they're entitled to blankets if it's cold and possible, not to soft beds, and so on.
However, discomfort introduced not because it's necessary for security or the resources available on a battlefied, but artifically for the purpose of coercing behavior, is torture.
That's a pretty simple definition. Requiring prisoners to get up at 6AM for breakfast is fine; keeping them awake for days with loud sounds and lights to try to exhaust and confuse them to the point of coercing behavior is not. Keeping them in shackles when moving them is fine, stress positions aimed to cause pain and coerce are not.
Guess where waterboarding falls? Guess where panties on the head for religious conservatives, rolling people in sleeping bags with little air for beatings fall?
On the other hand, saying things to challenge them - arguing they are violating the Koran, quoting Muslim leaders that terrorism is wrong, pointing out the harms of their actions, showing them photos of their victims and of the victims of the retribution, are all within the bounds of interrogation.
It's pretty simple, and has not caused a lot of controversy for 60 years since we didn't have evil torturers in power for 60 years.