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

ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the September 11 th attacks, the fear of apocalyptic terrorism has caused
many Americans and academics worldwide to reexamine previously held beliefs on the morality and
suitability of torture as a means of ensuring public safety. While much of the ensuing debate has
focused on deontological versus teleological ethics (Kant vs. Bentham), torture can only be properly
understood as an empirical system – a means of gathering information. By applying an analytical
narrative framework to comparative case studies, I argue that torture must depend on certain conditions
that are inherently difficult to satisfy – and that the attempts by various authorities to make use of
torture have instead led them inexorably towards a deceptive cycle where bad information corrupts the
system. The implication is that torture can paradoxically do more harm to the torturing state even than
the enemies it hopes to combat. The cases under examination include the Salem witch trials in 17 th
Century New England, the Algerian Revolution both from the standpoint of the French
counterinsurgency and the FLN, and the United States during the War on Terror.
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