Does torture really work?

The fact is that no “trial by ordeal,” be it physical, psychological or chemical will insure that we can: (1) actually get information from the detainee, and (2) guarantee that what ever information extracted is true, a reality with which most interrogation “experts” will agree. 

But what forms of “ordeal” are acceptable and who decides, and how do we know that we’re dealing with an individual who truly possesses the information that we so desperately seek?  If we have no guarantee of getting information, if we have no reason to believe what someone tells us under duress is true, if we are allowed to decide the limits of such stress and duress techniques on a local level without oversight, and if we’re really not sure that the detainee even has the information we want— is there justification for the use of torture, or does it just become summary punishment administered perhaps by immature, misguided and untrained individuals (at best), or by manipulative self-serving sociopaths (at worst)? 

The FBI, which has been critical of such physically aggressive interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, asserted in late 2003 that these tactics had failed to produce any intelligence that has assisted in the neutralization of any threat to date, something the military disputes. Another consideration is if a detainee was originally angry with us, and if he is tortured in these ways, how much angrier and more dangerous will he be when he is ultimately released from captivity?

Information concerning both the battlefield and terrorism comes in two forms: operational (that of immediate value) and strategic (that which is long-term in nature).  Other than an eight-digit GPS grid coordinate that can be locked into a cruise missile with bin Laden’s postal address, or the location of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, or specific intelligence on the where and by whom of the next terrorist attack, the information that we can hope to obtain from the current crop of hundreds of Iraqi detainees and other prisoners (from over 40 countries) appears limited in nature.  In other words, if we don’t get it right away, it is probably is of little or no use. 

My bottom line
I’m the first to admit and even assert that there are extreme circumstances that require extreme measures. If you tell me that someone in our custody absolutely, positively knew the cave bin Laden is hiding in, or the location of the biological weapon that has been smuggled into New York City, L.A., or Tucson to be used in a day or two to kill tens of thousands; or if someone had information concerning the location of your kidnapped child or my grandchild, I’d do just about anything to anyone to get that information. 

Our collective challenge is to find ways to obtain such information without adopting the same methods as those of our adversaries, and thereby losing our identity by letting our enemies make us just like them. 

It appears that our ultimate question becomes how do we draw the line, save our child, win the war— and still justify wearing our white hat?

Email Clint at

Clint Van Zandt is an MSNBC analyst. He is the founder and president of Van Zandt Associates Inc. Dr. Van Zandt and his associates also developed LiveSecure.org, a Website dedicated "to develop, evaluate, and disseminate information to help prepare and inform individuals concerning personal and family security issues." During his 25-year career in the FBI, Mr. Van Zandt was a supervisor in the FBI's internationally renowned Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He was also the FBI's Chief Hostage Negotiator and in his current position, was the leader of the analytical team recognized with identifying the "Unabomber."

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