The Subjective Nature of Torture

By Nick Guariglia

By now, I'm sure you've all read of the terrible things we did to Abu Zubaydah - what, with putting a caterpillar in his prison cell. Turns out the chap admitted to a fear of insects, so the CIA thought dangling some bugs in front of his face might get him to spill the beans about the next skyscraper he sought to knock down. This excruciating revelation comes in the aftermath of President Obama's decision to release the former Bush administration's so-called "torture memos." To afford captured detainees the ability to determine what is and is not objectively torture based upon their subjective cultural preferences, religious sensitivities, or personal dislikes and fears is not only asinine morality and poor practicality - but bad law, as well. Imagine if we enforced this logic to the fullest extent or at least to its natural conclusion. [more...]