According to our temple doctrine, "Jedi Believe...In the sanctity of the human person. We oppose the use of torture and cruel or unusual punishment including the death penalty. 1"

I know that waterboarding is a very controversial issue (one that my dad and I always debate), and that the United States military has used waterboarding as a "advanced method of interrogation". I personally believe it is torture, but my dad always disagrees and says that it doesn't cause pain but merely "scares" the person (because he feels like he's drowning.

Moreover, as a Jedi (in training)...

1) I oppose torture and cruel and unusual punishment.
2) I think that waterboarding is torture because it does cause people pain and forces them to answer questions.

Therefore

3) I oppose waterboarding.


What's your position on this matter? How do other Jedi view waterboarding?

1) Do you oppose any type of torture and cruel and unusual punishment?
2) Do you think waterboarding is torture? (Or just "an advanced form of interrogation"?)
3) (Therefore) Do you oppose or support waterboarding?


Thanks for you opinions, in advance.

One quick tidbit of perspective...

Some of you may ask why in the world would my dad think waterboarding isn't torture? (It seems a bit crazy to me.)

However, here is what I found on wikipedia: specifically about the Bush Administration's use of waterboarding and their justification for using it on suspected terrorists:

"During the presidency of George W. Bush, U.S. government officials at various times said they did not believe waterboarding to be a form of torture.[12][13][14][15] To justify its use of waterboarding, the Bush administration issued classified legal opinions that argued for a narrow definition of torture under U.S. law, including the Bybee memo, which it later withdrew.[16][17][18]"



So, my point is, even though I think that waterboarding is definitely torture (and I'm sure a lot of you also agree), there are many significant people out there that support it and deny that is is torture.

So there are many perspectives. Life is not simple.

I oppose torture and cruel and unusual punishment.
To me, water-boarding is torture. Even if it doesn't cause physical pain, there is emotional and psychological pain involved.
Therefore, I oppose water-boarding.

It is not a punishment... it is torture!

I openly oppose all torture.
Some forms of water boarding are extremely painful... and they not only damage the body, but the psyche. People are never the same afterwards, and people have died a very slow and terrifying death from it.

I believe that the ends never "justify" the means and that we should conduct ourselves accordingly.
I not only cherish human life, but hold a sanctity to all life.

It would depend how you define torture, if its mental then yes waterboarding is mental torture but it is not physical. Its similar to the water torture of dripping water on someones head although that does cause more physical damage.
The issue is that many see torture as physical and not mental

I don't know that I would call it torture, but in my quickly formed opinion that is subject to change, I think I'm against it simply because it can be a slippery slope to other extreme forms of punishment.

Instead, ask the prisoner what his favorite foods and dessert are. Then just give the prisoner bread and water while you eat their favorite meals everyday in front of them. Do this until they crack. I'd crack on that kind of treatment in about a day.

See? You don't need "aggresive negotiations."

MTFBWY,
LTK

1) Do you oppose any type of torture and cruel and unusual punishment?

Yes. Who are we to grant ourselves the power to cause other people pain and suffering? My moral code finds the concept of torture abhorrent. And aside from that, what if the person turned out to be innocent?

2) Do you think waterboarding is torture? (Or just "an advanced form of interrogation"?)

Absolutely. It is supposed to simulate drowning, is it not? Imagine what it must feel like to drown - to feel as though your lungs are filling with water and you can't breathe. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

3) (Therefore) Do you oppose or support waterboarding?

Oppose. Very very strongly.

Well, I think we can all agree that waterboarding is something we would not like to do or to be subject of. In my opinion it is clearly a form of torture.

From the linguistical point of view:

If we look the definition of torture up, in the spanish royal language academy dictionary (Real Academia Española de la Lengua), we find the following definition:
Grave dolor físico o psicológico infligido a alguien, con métodos y utensilios diversos, con el fin de obtener de él una confesión, o como medio de castigo. which means: serious physical or psicological pain inflicted to someone with diverse methods and tools, with the goal of obtaaining a confession or as a punishment. therefore wateboading would be a form of torture.

From the moral point of view:

From this point of view another controversy arises, ¿Is it justified in some situations to inflict pain on another person to obtain information which may save a life?. I say to save a life because I believe that the right to live is the highest one there is, and therefore the only one that may justify moraly wrong actions like forms of torture, or even terminating another life (self defence), when my right to live conflicts with the right to live of another.

Any other situation where torture is applied for other reasons I cannot justify. For me only life is worth enough to corrupt our behaviour in such a way.

so:
1. I oppose forms of torture and unsusual punishment. The only exception I see is that as a result of it a life may be saved.
2.Yes, I think waterboarding is torture
3. I totally oppose this type of torturing. Appart from beeing a form of torture, it is also too aggressive, and may therefore cause not only permanent psicologycal damage (trauma) but also death if not done "right".

JORIZQUI wrote:
You think it's worth it when we corrupt our behaviour? How is it you think that it's possible to have larger ideals if the smaller ones get compromised?

It's like building a house without a foundation. Sooner or later it will collapse.
V-Tog wrote:
That is my view exactly
Sean Ching via Wikipedia wrote:
That is simply using the letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law

Anyone that considers waterboarding not torturous should be waterboarded themselves- and I happen to like Bush (not getting into politics here, so don't start).

I am against waterboarding and torture- with the exception of withholding "treats" (soda, chai, tobacco, etc).