John Mccain: Torture’s Terrible Toll

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Torture is one of the most controversial issues of the last decade. Many people have chosen sides about the topic. John McCain’s essay on torture came from his experience. During his tour of duty in Vietnam, he was a prisoner for 5 ½ years. Being the son of a top ranking admiral in the Navy, his case became highly publicized. While obviously being against torture, he also believes it is morally wrong for the torturer. In his work, he gives three main points to support his war on torture: the issue of the reliability intelligence gained (423), other country’s following in our footsteps regarding torture (424), and the mental harm inflicted in the process (424). In war, the soldiers strategically use intelligence in order to gain an upper hand over the enemy. But what good is intelligence if it’s not accurate (423)? Torturing a prisoner does not guarantee accurate information. The person being tortured can easily give false and misleading information. McCain himself gave false information when he was a prisoner, refusing to put his comrades in harm’s way. In fact, when questioned about the names of his flight squadron members, and he gave the Vietnamese names of the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers (423). The torturers can be easily fooled because they cannot reliably verify the accuracy of the information they get from a torture victim. Therefore, the problem of unreliable intelligence deals a big blow against torture. Many nations, including the United States, made torturing illegal, but if America tortures a soldier from other nations, they can do the same back to America (424). If American troops held another nation’s soldier captive, the enemy may feel they have the right to do the same. McCain argues that this weakens protection for America’s soldiers. He also states that if America believes that they are better than the enemies, reversing the roll and

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