.. information or a confession, punishing him for an act he... has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him (qtd. "United Nations").
The effects of the Abu Gharib scandal, and the other interrogation concerns coming from Guantanamo Bay, led to the recently passed Military Commissions Act, which further clarifies the United States' position on the use of alternative interrogation methods and what is and is not acceptable, including the discontinuance of the use of waterboarding.
Again, although the use of alternative interrogation techniques, such as sleep deprivation or long time standing have the same goals of information retrieval, their similarities end there. Standard interrogation does not involve coercive methods. Prisoners or sources may be mentally intimidated, but they do not suffer physical or mental harm. Even the information garnered can be vastly different. Information received by standard interrogation methods is typically considered more reliable than that of alternative methods, given the coercive nature. When subjected to the physical and mental anguish of alternative interrogation techniques it is possible that prisoners would admit to anything or even make up information simply to end the interrogation process.
Other forms of interrogation that are less cruel than that of washboarding and long-term standing include the use of GABAergic drugs, such as sodium amytal, to increase suggestibility. In addition, there is the use of the Reid technique, which is a nine-step interrogation process that involves factual and behavioral analysis. In the case of the Reid technique, it may be difficult to apply when dealing with suspects from other cultures ("Interrogation").
In addition, the effectiveness, of these...
Certainly, in the case of Abu Gharib, alternative interrogation techniques went beyond what would be considered humane and necessary and landed in the realm of cruel and vile. However, the garnering of information from suspects is a vital part of keeping America safe, and Sullivan does not offer any suggestions for effective means of obtaining this information, instead he merely criticizes what has been done.
Perhaps the five years that has past since September 11th has dulled Sullivan's senses to the reality of what America faces in its vulnerability to terrorism. But, if one person standing on a box, who is never in any real danger of being harmed, or one person who is forced to go without sleep, gave information that would prevent a second September 11th from occurring, than it would be worth it.
References
Horton, S. When Lawyers are War Criminals. 12 Oct 2006. Pace Law School. November 25, 2006 http://library.law.pace.edu/blogs/jib/2006/10/when_lawyers_are_war_criminals.html.
Interrogation. 15 Nov 2006. Wikipedia.com. November 25, 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogation.
Scelfo, J. & Nordland, R. "Beneath the Hoods." Newsweek (2006). November 25, 2006 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5412316/site/newsweek/.
Sullivan, A. "Torture by Any Other Name is Just as Vile." The Sunday Times (24 Sept 2006).
United Nations Convention Against Torture. 24 Nov 2006. Wikipedia.com. November 25, 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Against_Torture.
