A Question of Torture - a book review

"A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror" by Alfred W. McCoy is indeed a lesson on torture, war, and terror. With detail after detail, this heavily footnoted book describes the ungodly morass that we find ourselves in by succumbing to the terrible temptation of torture. The first half of the book describes carefully what various definitions of torture are and how, for the most part, the U.S. has avoided the kind of torture which includes pulling out of fingernails and other physically maiming activities. When we want that level of torture, we export our prisoners to foreign "friends" who have even less scruples than we do. No, we use less visible means such as "dietary adjustments", isolation, "sensory overloading or deprivation", near drowning, sexual humiliation, and genital electroshock. What's more, a presidential directive has made all this legal as long as it is for the purpose of obtaining information. We can't do it just for fun.

Having sickened the reader with the reality of currently practice torture by good Americans, the author then treats us to the charade in Washington where the administration and congress seem to fall all over themselves in claiming that torture is practiced "by only a few bad apples" but can't seem to pass a meaningful law that makes torture illegal. That would "tie the President's hands" they claim.

Finally, Professor McCoy addresses the question of the effectiveness of torture. It appears that for thousands of years it has been long known that torture of a few is very unproductive. Torture of the masses is effective in rooting out dangerous troublemakers but at great political cost as it tends to very effectively recruit for the other side. The hypothetical "ticking bomb" case is easily dismissed by McCoy as a case of using 20-20 hindsight to show that if the right person were interrogated by the right people at the right time with the right questions there is a slight chance of some useful information coming out. The chance of that happening in our government bureaucracy is next to nil.

So why do supposedly rational and sane leaders such as Bush and Rumsfeld succumb to the use of torture? Because it is empowering. It makes them feel good, feel like they are doing something that will have concrete results. Like a bully who is not successful on one battlefield, he can be successful at beating up the weak and (for the moment at least) the powerless. Bush and friends just can't believe that when this is all over the world won't profusely thank them and excuse their excesses as necessary in such difficult times.

An excellent book if you have a strong stomach. Not recommended for those who are sure our government can do no wrong.