The fact that the government condones these torture techniques is bad enough. The situation at Guantanamo Bay underscores how deeply the government has delved into torture and other forms of detention that fly in the face of human rights and what is right and wrong. Many Americans may turn their backs on these practices, saying they are "necessary" for the time, but they are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to losing human rights and our own personal freedoms. There is little difference between the torture techniques the CIA is using around the world, and many of the tactics the Soviets and many other dictatorships have used throughout the years. The regime of Saddam Hussein of course comes to mind. We "liberated" the Iraqis, only to practice methods of torture on detainees that Saddam himself probably would have approved of and appreciated, and his trial and subsequent hanging indicates that "state-sanctioned murder" is already a part of the government's arsenal of torture and "liberation." The relevance of this book is quite clear. America is a country who champions human rights, and yet, we violate our own theories on human rights by employing these torture tactics in the name of the nation's safety. This country was founded on the principles of human rights, and after World War II, the country was instrumental in helping form the United Nations, a worldwide body that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Americans helped draft and approve (McCoy, 2006, p. 15). To know that the country supports psychological torture, and utilizes it, flies in the face of this Declaration and the ideas...

The country is in effect two-faced, and this book puts all of that into perspective, and much more. This book is relevant to the class because it showcases how important human rights are, and how people can "get away" with abuses because of fear and perceived enemies.
In conclusion, this is an important and valuable book that needs more public attention and understanding. The United States is following a path that it has never condoned up until the last 50 or so years, and it is a disturbing and dangerous path. If effect we are telling the world that torture is "bad" unless of course there are unusual circumstances. The country pointed to Saddam Hussein as a vicious dictator who ruled with an iron hand and used torture and intimidation as a matter of course. With the country's own history of torture, it is no longer above reproof or suspicion, and that means that the American people and her government are perceived as no different from a heinous dictator who created a reign of terror in his own country. That is an exceptionally sad statement about this country and how it is perceived around the world.