The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
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problem by <strong>the</strong> authorities – and yet <strong>the</strong> Court <strong>of</strong> Oyer and Terminer, <strong>the</strong> FLN, <strong>the</strong> French Army, and<br />
<strong>the</strong> CIA all managed to pollute <strong>the</strong>ir pool <strong>of</strong> suspects in just this fashion.<br />
Most strikingly, <strong>the</strong> ability to investigate does not appear to have played much role in insulating<br />
<strong>the</strong> state from <strong>the</strong>se pernicious effects. While we can understand <strong>the</strong> Villagers and Jurists at Salem <strong>for</strong><br />
not understanding <strong>the</strong> properties <strong>of</strong> human sight, and <strong>the</strong> dangerous nature <strong>of</strong> spectral evidence, <strong>the</strong><br />
highly modern and sophisticated armies <strong>of</strong> France in <strong>the</strong> 1950s, and <strong>the</strong> deeply intelligence oriented US<br />
military in <strong>the</strong> 2000s both fell victim to <strong>the</strong> same pitfalls <strong>of</strong> misin<strong>for</strong>mation and <strong>the</strong> vicious circles <strong>of</strong><br />
denunciation. One potential argument in favor <strong>of</strong> torture <strong>for</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation yet remains to consider. What<br />
if <strong>the</strong> problems found in <strong>the</strong>se cases were not <strong>the</strong> fault <strong>of</strong> torture per se, but ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> result <strong>of</strong> ruthless<br />
torturers attempting to gain advancement by inflating <strong>the</strong> amount <strong>of</strong> 'in<strong>for</strong>mation' <strong>the</strong>y extracted? What<br />
if this is simply a question <strong>of</strong> finding better, or more pr<strong>of</strong>essional agents? This argument is strong – but<br />
it is based on precisely <strong>the</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation dilemma I identify as <strong>the</strong> reason why interrogational torture is<br />
likely to fail. If <strong>the</strong> state cannot distinguish between <strong>the</strong> true in<strong>for</strong>mation that <strong>the</strong> torturer extracts from<br />
<strong>the</strong> misin<strong>for</strong>mation he throws in to pad his reports, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>re can be no hope <strong>for</strong> torture as a system <strong>of</strong><br />
ga<strong>the</strong>ring intelligence: <strong>the</strong> cynical torturer will always win over <strong>the</strong> careful and conscientious one. In<br />
<strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> United States, <strong>the</strong> greater pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism <strong>of</strong> CIA torturers did not prevent<br />
misin<strong>for</strong>mation from corrupting <strong>the</strong> system anymore than at Abu Ghraib.<br />
Can <strong>Torture</strong> be Made to Work?<br />
<strong>The</strong> ethical case <strong>for</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mational torture, exemplified by <strong>the</strong> ticking-bomb scenario, fails<br />
utterly once we consider <strong>the</strong> logic <strong>of</strong> torture itself. <strong>The</strong> less time <strong>the</strong> authorities have to make use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
in<strong>for</strong>mation gleaned from coercion, <strong>the</strong> less incentive <strong>the</strong>y have to investigate its veracity, and <strong>the</strong> less<br />
incentive <strong>the</strong> captive has to tell <strong>the</strong> truth. <strong>The</strong> less time-sensitive <strong>the</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation required, <strong>the</strong> less<br />
torture can be supported ethically – since <strong>the</strong> prime reason to torture has traditionally been assumed to<br />
be its ability to ga<strong>the</strong>r in<strong>for</strong>mation more quickly than more empirical methods. Likewise, <strong>the</strong><br />
assumption that torture can operate as a substitute <strong>for</strong> investigation is untrue: without <strong>the</strong> ability to vet<br />
tortured in<strong>for</strong>mation sufficiently costlessly, <strong>the</strong> authority cannot credibly commit to doing so, allowing<br />
<strong>the</strong> captive to take advantage <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation asymmetry to plant misin<strong>for</strong>mation. But while <strong>the</strong>se<br />
qualifications <strong>for</strong>ce us to reexamine how we think about torture, don't <strong>the</strong>y also provide us with a<br />
potential path towards “correct” torture? Would it be possible to design a torture system that took <strong>the</strong>se<br />
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