Interrogation Techniques: Tactic or Torture - Research Paper Example

Some of those approved, include those that which comply with the Third Geneva Convention such as standard Army methods. Torture, as an interrogation technique in the United State has been used over the years. Department of Justice have on several instances authorized torture techniques especially waterboarding. Waterboarding have been used throughout independent America history, particularly in order to facilitate extraction of information necessary for investigations. Even though it has been considered in some quotas as an interrogation tactic, its critics have accused it as being outright torture.

Interrogation Techniques: Tactic or Torture Deviant behaviours and undesirable actions have proved inevitable in the society. Due to this, individuals or group of individuals commits crimes of all nature from time to time. However, the ideals of societies that are enshrined in the constitutions suggest that law and order must be maintained at all times; this explains why those who commit crime are investigated and thereafter charged in the court of law. One of the popular methods of investigation is interrogation.

Those mandated with maintaining law and order in the United States often use interrogation techniques in order to obtain information they need for investigation. . Over the years, interrogation techniques have been used across the world and are still being used to investigate crime, especially crime of heinous nature. It is important to highlight that interrogation techniques may take a form of rapport development or may take extreme form of outright torture of the subjects in order to extract information.

This discussion will focus on interrogation techniques with specific attention paid to torture techniques governed by the United States; particularly, it will expound on waterboarding as an interrogation technique, both historically to present. Torture is an act of inflicting either psychological or physical pain in order to coerce someone to confess, or as a way of punishing or revenging on someone Parry (2010). The international law and most national laws prohibit torture of whichever kind.

Under the international law, Article 5 of the 1948’s United Nations Declaration of Human Rights prohibits torture. In the United States, torture is unacceptable since it is declared illegal in the Constitution and is therefore punishable if a suspect of torture is found guilty within the territorial boundaries of the US. This implies that the constitution bars practice of torture by any citizen regardless of their status or job specifications. However, despite torture being declared illegal by the constitution, there are alleged and documented cases relating to torture that involve some of the US government officers both within the US boundaries and outside.

The accusers allege that the US personnel use torture especially on the terror suspects in order to obtain information regarding terror networks and activities. These accusations have been increasing since the