Law Does Work. In last month's Prospect, Michael Ignatieff wondered if torture, under some circumstances, may make us safer. This is an academic treatise, rather than a book for a more general reader; nonetheless, it should appeal to a wide audience. O'Mara's book answers this critical question in clear terms. Torture earns PCs a bad reputation. But neuroscientists know a lot about how the brain reacts to fear, extreme temperatures, starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, and immersion in freezing water, all tools of the torturer’s trade. Torture is banned because it is cruel and inhumane. No, Torture Doesn't Work. So he, and all of his GOP and other cheerleaders, first try to deny reality (just as they do on so many issues, from global warming to racism) and then if that doesn’t work, get the argument onto definitions. Highly recommended. Lots of people-including us-talk about torture. For Justin Reich that meant rethinking how to promote his new book, Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, published in September. Please try again. By … Torture advocates like Dick Cheney were wrong about its efficacy. Unable to add item to List. Outside the field of psychology, Darius Rejali's Torture & Democracy is quite good in addressing why torture is not very effective (yet, nevertheless persists), and should lead you to other worthwhile references. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Getting good answers to that question has been a priority for the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), which brings together intelligence experts from the FBI, the CIA, the Pentagon, and the State Department. Torture is banned because it is cruel and inhumane. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. So much for what doesn’t work. Why Keep That Secret?! It’s not just that torture doesn’t work — it also deteriorates the moral foundation of the country in a kind of feedback loop. But as Shane O’Mara writes in this account of the human brain under stress, another reason torture should never be condoned is because it does not work the way torturers assume it does. Torture is banned because it is cruel and inhumane. that what was done wasn’t torture anyway. That rewrite could happen soon, thanks to an amendment to the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that sets policies for the Pentagon, introduced by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona — a former U.S. Navy pilot who was tortured after his plane was shot … I was hoping that Shane would really dive into the neuroscience of interrogation BUT he spends the first several pages just giving his opinion on why torture is bad. This book uses previous research to convey an argument regarding torture. Alan Dershowitz, the renowned legal scholar and civil libertarian, has stirred up a small hornets nest since the September 11 attacks by talking openly about the possibilities of sanctioning torture … Unlike the doctors, they weren't present, but until the publication of this book, their silence was a shame to the profession. Torture does not persuade people to make a reasoned decision to cooperate, but produces panic, dissociation, unconsciousness and long-term neurological damage. For example, building a rapport and talking has proven to be very useful in many settings, such as therapy, this method may also prove to be a better alternative to torture for obtaining information. What O'Mara shows us is that using torture to get information out of a person is akin to trying to eat an orange without peeling it: the juice dribbles away and you just end up with messy hands and some pulp. A former senior interrogator in Iraq says that abusing prisoners results in unreliable information, costs American lives, and it still hasn’t turned up Bin Laden. Marni Soupcoff: Torture doesn't work. torture doesn’t work. By Nathan Pippenger from April 2, 2014, 12:59 pm – 4 MIN READ There have been no 'trials' or torture to rely on, so O'Mara uses information relating to other psychological manipulations; and, remarkably, all the widely used methods of torture have been simulated elsewhere. CIA officers and others conducted torture using precisely this justification. 12/20/2013 04:37 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017 Most Americans do not know that their government engaged in practices that the civilized world considers war crimes. Torture is illegal and immoral but what O'Mara proves is that it is also completely ineffective as an information-gathering tool. But if we want information that we can depend on to save lives, O’Mara writes, our model should be Napoleon: “It has always been recognized that this way of interrogating men, by putting them to torture, produces nothing worthwhile.”, Publishing (and Promoting) a Book during a Pandemic, This year challenged the way people do many things. Few people feel easy about torture and, as O'Mara shows, that subsequently includes the torturers who also frequently become victims themselves. This book should be a must-read for anyone working on interrogation policy. 12/20/2013 04:37 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017 Most Americans do not know that their government engaged in practices that the civilized world considers war crimes. Torture is illegal and certainly immoral, but it persists nonetheless. Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2016. Torture doesn't work. If Torture Doesn't Work, Why Do Governments Use It? “Science Shows that Torture Doesn’t Work and Is Counterproductive.” Rupert Stone, Newsweek, May 8, … “Senate Intelligence Committee Study on CIA Detention and Interrogation Program.” Dianne Feinstein, December 2014. O'Mara clearly show not only why torture doesn't work, but why it can't. The justification at the time was that torture extracted vital intelligence. Published in In last month's Prospect, Michael Ignatieff wondered if torture, under some circumstances, may make us safer. Torture degrades the torturer and those who condone it; acceptance of torture undermines the very foundations—and thus the security—of our society. The science is accessible without losing those not experienced in neuroscience and contains all the relevant references for those who want to check facts or dig deeper into the science. Torture Doesn't Work. Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation Shane O’Mara. Social science research tells us that torture doesn't work—but philosophy and history reveal the real reason why we must oppose it. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Besides being cruel and inhumane, torture does not work the way torturers assume it does. In other words, interrogators may unintentionally plant false memories in their stressed targets. Cooper notes the work of the political scientist Darius Rejali, which has helped demonstrate one thing about torture: It works well, so long as the goal is to extract a false confession. Of course the torturer-in-chief, Dick Cheney, went bananas over the report’s release.He argues both that torture works and then (oops!) Hard science and facts on a very emotive topic, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2018. Given I am neither a medical or psychology trained expert or thankfully ever been subject to torture, all I read and the later revelations about Abu Ghraib detention and torture practices plus indirect comments made in many different articles and documentary films (notably Errol Morris's "Standard Operating Procedures") simply added to this unease. The answer is a firm no. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Although the author's stance on torture is stated very clearly from the outset, this book sets out the science behind how the body and brain actually respond to torture rather than the images we see in popular TV programmes such as "24". Torture may be effective in forcing confessions, as in Stalin’s Russia. As Prof. O'Mara makes clear, the book does not examine the other uses or rationales for torture, such as the production of false confessions, or the general exploitation of the prisoner (show trials, turning a prisoner into an informant, terrorization of a population, etc. Well the dam theory pretty much spells out its own failing. Why Torture Doesn’t Work has a specific origin, says its author Shane O’Mara, professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. Torture Doesn't Work. GET THIS BOOK Why Torture Doesn't Work Besides being cruel and inhumane, torture does not work the way torturers assume it does. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. It’s not just that torture doesn’t work — it also deteriorates the moral foundation of the country in a kind of feedback loop. Never again can people lazily throw around false assertions that torture is effective. Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception. Indeed by focusing primarily on “torture doesn’t work” for its primary criticism of the program, the Senate Intelligence Committee has let the Republicans and the numerous complicit corporate Democrats and the Right-wing generally off the hook. Eleven U.S. soldiers were eventually convicted of crimes relating to the Abu Ghraib scandal. While the employment of torture is most definitely a policy issue, it must not be a partisan one. It's also very clear that false confessions are very easy to produce; it doesn't have to be physical torture or 'enhanced interrogation'; a coercive interview works just as well. D-brief By Nathaniel Scharping and Carl Engelking January 28, 2017 4:59 AM. In countless films and TV shows such as Homeland and 24, torture is portrayed as a harsh necessity. "Why Torture Doesn't Work" is a fascinating read about the scientific research around how memory works not just for scientists, but for policymakers, attorneys, academics, and especially for government officials who are involved in interrogation techniques and practices. The torture subject has no economic motivation to tell the truth in any circumstance. May 20, 2016 Shane O'Mara. Torture Doesn't Work. These stressors create problems for memory, mood, and thinking, and sufferers predictably produce information that is deeply unreliable—and, for intelligence purposes, even counterproductive. Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2016. But there is no evidence that this is true; on the contrary, torture undermines the very goals it is supposed to achieve. The word torture comes from the Latin tortura, meaning to twist. It has been used for thousands of years and it is still occurring throughout much of the world. Harvard University Press (November 30, 2015). The problem is twofold: You get a lot of false positives; innocent people who will tell you anything to stop the torture may just list some people they know as having been involved. It’s a shame that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's punishment will be delayed and stained by the misdeeds of those whose job it was to seek justice. Torture is banned because it is cruel and inhumane. “Even Torturers Admit Torture Doesn’t Work.” Letters, The Guardian, January 27, 2017. But does torture accomplish what its defenders say it does? Torture doesn't work. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The author. Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2016. Law Does Work. Sources “Scientists to Trump: Torture Doesn’t Work.” John Bohannon, Science, January 27, 2017. Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018. As abhorrent as torture might be, it seldom lacks defenders, who argue that it is necessary to obtain information that can save lives. Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation By Shane O’Mara Harvard University Press, 336pp, £22.95 ISBN 9780674743908 Published 26 November 2015. Essential documentation about the failure of torture to produce "truth", Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2016. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. On to the dam theory. Torture Doesn't Work. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2016. But as Shane O’Mara writes in this account of the human brain under stress, another reason torture should never be condoned is because it does not work the way torturers assume it does. Why Torture Doesn't Work book. There's a problem loading this menu right now. He does look at some of the types of torture used and then looks at some similar scenarios in real life (hunger, lack of sleep...) However, to correlate his studies back to torture is a logical fallacy (cause and effect). In fact, the stress caused by torture is likely to impair regions of the brain associated with memory, according to O’Mara, making it even more likely that subjects will lie or parrot information picked up from their captors. Something went wrong. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Why Torture Doesn't Work: A Critique of Alan Dershowitz' Case for Torture March 11, 2004 By Jack Rabbit. But That's Not The Point. To a prisoner being tortured, the logic is simple — talking makes the torment end — and the … The Science is Clear, Torture Doesn't Work. However, the top interrogation experts all say torture that doesn't work: The military agency which actually provided advice on harsh interrogation techniques for use against terrorism suspects warned the Pentagon in 2002 that those techniques would produce "unreliable information." Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Then, he qualifies the entire book by saying that obviously for ethical reasons you cannot do direct studies on torture and so he will use indirect studies to look at torture. O'Mara takes a scientific sledgehammer to the Hollywood notion that torture works. Read 11 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. It doesn't work. Why Torture Doesn't Work Torture to enhance interrogation is a demonstrable failure, given its own goals. This book presents one of those opportunities. Worth the read. But does torture accomplish what its defenders say it does? It often is misleading, as in the case of Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, an Al Qaeda lieutenant who was tortured into saying that Saddam Hussein worked with Al Qaeda and had weapons of mass destruction. Excellent book, written in an easy to understand style. In countless films and TV shows such as Homeland and 24, torture is portrayed as a harsh necessity. Torture doesn't work It erodes national security and democracy. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I'm sure, as you know, the CIA is saying something different. ). Experienced interrogator: Torture doesn’t work By Donald Canestraro — 12/13/14 09:00 AM EST The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill “Don’t tell me it doesn’t work — torture works,” Donald Trump insisted during the 2016 presidential campaign. Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2019. Torture to make someone confess to something definitely doesn’t work, because you already assume they are guilty of whatever and until they “confess” they will keep being tortured. The answer is a firm no. For ethical reasons, there are no scientific studies of torture. Prime members enjoy free Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows such as Homeland 24. Were eventually convicted of crimes relating to the Hollywood notion that torture works Neuroscience can affect the torturers... Question in clear terms previous research to convey an argument regarding torture hard science facts! To your door, © torture doesn't work, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates for tackling this issue the., the consensus is, does n't yield good information for a wide variety factors. About the failure of torture to enhance Interrogation is a powerful rebuttal to such! 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