The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information

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seen, in 16 th Century Massachusetts, mid 20 th Century Algeria, and 21 st Century America, the authorities were simply unable to credibly commit to doing so, allowing captives to delay, deceive, and ultimately damage the states who persecuted them. The deceptive cycle that I find in each case indicates that states are simply not often in a position to credibly commit to investigating the information that captives reveal. This is not to say that torture can never work: indeed, it is entirely possible for captives to reveal true information to the state, just as it is possible for the state to reject true information because it does not fit their prior beliefs. But it is to say that torture is unlikely to work if the players involved act rationally, even under optimal conditions. And since there is no reason to believe in torture's efficacy from a psychological perspective, this leaves very little reason to believe that torture can work systematically. For torture has never been a question of 'just this once' under extreme circumstances: torture is a system of gaining information, and as such it must be evaluated as a system. And that system is least likely to work under precisely those conditions when it can most be justified: when the state lacks other investigative alternatives, when the captive is certain to be knowledgeable, and when time is of the essence. The ticking bomb scenario – far from justifying torture in extremis – is instead its downfall: for all the captive has to do is lie while the bomb ticks silently across town. 39
3.1. Introduction. CHAPTER 3 THE WITCHHUNT: Slavery, Coercion and Misinformation in the Salem Witch-Trials The deceptive cycle that torture for information can engender stems from two major sources. Firstly, if the state is unable or unwilling to investigate the information it receives from the captive, then the captive is in the position to lie under torture. Secondly, and relatedly, if the state's prior beliefs are antithetical enough to the truth, then the captive is best off mimicking those beliefs. A good example of this second process exists where a state confronts a fictitious conspiracy: if the authorities are convinced that they face a secret threat, and they use torture to ferret that threat out, then it is highly likely that they will eventually find what they are looking for. The logic is simple: even when the state is able and willing to investigate the stories told by the captives it tortures, as long as investigating sends a noisy signal – as long as it is possible for the state to err – then the state will eventually believe a lie. The more 'noise' the state receives, the greater is the likelihood that the lie is accepted – and the greater potential for the deceptive cycle to commence. The Salem Witch-Trials of 1692 offer an excellent example of the nightmare scenario where the authorities' prior beliefs are false, and the ability to investigate the captives' revelations independently of the logic of torture are minimal. The deceptive cycle that resulted from the trials showcases as well the dangers that torture presents for a society. As the cycle progressed the elites in charge quickly lost control of the proceedings - some would even become its victims – and the very structure of theocratic governance that underlay the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be severely weakened. This chapter is geared towards understanding and explaining the cycle of denunciations that marked the trials in Salem village, and argues that this cycle can best be explained through the logic of informational torture. In order to make this claim, however, a few clarifications are in order. The logic of torture for information developed in the previous chapter applies to any situation where an authority threatens an individual with punishment if they do not reveal information. Thus, this logic applies to 40
Page 1 and 2: THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEG
Page 3 and 4: This work is dedicated to my wife,
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT vii 1. T
Page 7 and 8: ABSTRACT In the aftermath of the Se
Page 9 and 10: judged by their effects. The deonto
Page 11 and 12: etter than chance on average, no ma
Page 13 and 14: from fiction, and also in the time
Page 15 and 16: the cases differ in how well inform
Page 17 and 18: characterization by method. Torture
Page 19 and 20: gather such evidence was strong, to
Page 21 and 22: ineffective. Something must prevent
Page 23 and 24: The description which it would be n
Page 25 and 26: powerful themselves. 21 While histo
Page 27 and 28: known by the misnomer 'torture-ligh
Page 29 and 30: substitute for intelligence gatheri
Page 31 and 32: This lack of good data on torture t
Page 33 and 34: found that the procedure can cause
Page 35 and 36: captive who has faced torture, and
Page 37 and 38: state cannot credibly commit to pla
Page 39 and 40: incentive not to present as favorab
Page 41 and 42: units, those engaged in the applica
Page 43 and 44: of causal mechanisms in a very dire
Page 45: the threats they face are real, whe
Page 49 and 50: discovered by Sir Thomas Newton and
Page 51 and 52: two, and the execution of the convi
Page 53 and 54: years preceding the outbreak at Sal
Page 55 and 56: these women - non-Church members, p
Page 57 and 58: Hubbard) and four grown and married
Page 59 and 60: innocent, and recalled that when he
Page 61 and 62: crowd was deeply and troublingly mo
Page 63 and 64: it was precisely in these terms tha
Page 65 and 66: came to an end. Misogyny was all to
Page 67 and 68: only the witch-trials that brought
Page 69 and 70: partners in their own (apparent) de
Page 71 and 72: possibility would be to question th
Page 73 and 74: John Bridges (whose own wife and da
Page 75 and 76: she again broke down and named seve
Page 77 and 78: forcing the already convicted to re
Page 79 and 80: We can thus see Tituba's confession
Page 81 and 82: Samuell Parris. 70 The strongest ev
Page 83 and 84: order to purge political dissidents
Page 85 and 86: torture as a failure based on this
Page 87 and 88: torture - the state will apply it e
Page 89 and 90: time, the government in Paris was c
Page 91 and 92: for two reasons - first, because Me
Page 93 and 94: The Soummam conference in the Summe
Page 95 and 96: one of the primary justifications f
Page 97 and 98:
DOP in particular is instructive fo
Page 99 and 100:
us stops in the city center. These
Page 101 and 102:
one that would turn the dangers of
Page 103 and 104:
dismantling of the ZAA organization
Page 105 and 106:
found in the literature: the revela
Page 107 and 108:
In fact, the use of torture did hav
Page 109 and 110:
e.g.), by March (when the DPU had b
Page 111 and 112:
Paul Teitgen appears to have been c
Page 113 and 114:
the French public. 95 Secondly, the
Page 115 and 116:
conditions theoretically necessary
Page 117 and 118:
the reasons for holding the detaine
Page 119 and 120:
y military interrogators. (Washingt
Page 121 and 122:
fact come verbatim from a 1957 jour
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ole in the acquisition of intellige
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to those believed to have informati
Page 127 and 128:
name for metanetwork analysis. 102
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other words, the CIA High Value Det
Page 131 and 132:
Padilla was accused by KSM of plott
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and an enemy of the United States,
Page 135 and 136:
alternative mechanism) by Darius Re
Page 137 and 138:
York Times, 09/12/2005) Insofar as
Page 139 and 140:
these interrogations were conducted
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al-Qaeda is structured, names of in
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CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION: The Misleadin
Page 145 and 146:
problem by the authorities - and ye
Page 147 and 148:
situations (France in Algeria and V
Page 149 and 150:
Jack Bauer was used as justificatio
Page 151 and 152:
Biderman, Albert D. “Effects of C
Page 153 and 154:
Crelinstein, Ronald and Alex Schmid
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History Teacher. 30:4 (1997): pp. 4
Page 157 and 158:
International Council on Security a
Page 159 and 160:
Lewis, Neil A. “Red Cross Finds D
Page 161 and 162:
Obuchowski, Chester W. “Algeria:
Page 163 and 164:
Schiemann, John W. “Interrogation
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Barack Obama is Inviting the Next A
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United States, Department of Defens
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Patrick Armshaw
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