Ethics and the War on Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics and the War on Terrorism - Research Paper Example I define the issue as applies to international and human rights perspectives, its origin, and point of view in favor and against employing of torture in the war against terror. Terrorism is not morally justifiable, neither is there a single methodology successful in addressing the issue of terror. Therefore, various investigative agencies apply combined techniques of gathering intelligence with respect to terror activities. However, ethical and moral arguments encompass the war against terror, as the techniques used to gather information from uncooperative suspects are illegal (Blakeley, 2011). The leading of these is the use of torture techniques in gathering intelligence. The question of the ethical perspective on the use of torture in addressing terror continues to elicit lively debates, with each side holding stern views on the topic. Torture entails the process of inflicting severe pain to someone with the purpose of forcing him or her to do or say something. It a practical approach used since immemorial time against prisoners of war, suspected insurgents and spies and political prisoners (McCoy, 2012). However, with respect to terrorism, the governments identified the form of violence called terrorism in the period between 1970s and 1980s. Thus, this is where the historical origin of the relations between torture terrorism also begins. Governments used the systemic torture in conflicts against rebels, insurgents, and resistance groups over hundreds of years in the past. However, the question remains whether these conflicts constitute the war against terrorism. Governments often refer to their non-state violent opponents as terrorists. Nonetheless, the ascertaining of their involvement in terrorist activity, in various cases, remains a debatable subject. Since the 9/11 assault on America, the subject of the use of torture to gain useful information from