MethodMan said:
Can we come up with a definition of torutre that we can all agree on? Panties on the head doesn't cut it for me.
it all depends on many issues. In order to extract information through torture you can use medieval torture, like, erm... On second thought, I won´t post any descriptions. Nasty stuff... Which destroys your body and leaves you in a state of excruciating pgysical pain. Which can make most people say whatever you want them. Most would confess to being a duck on steroids if exposed to this torture.
And that is the problem. Physical torture of this kind has a few downsides.
Point one; It leaves a lot of dead bodies. Whoever is exposed to the iron maiden, or the saw, or such is killed, albeit slowly. The object of the torture would thus be dual. One, get information. And two, get rid of opposition.
Most others maim the victim for life, leaving visible marks which can very easilly be identified.
Two; It can get people to say anything. Like say they were definitely the main person behind the mongol raids, or even genghis khan himself. As demonstrated in the knights templar admitting to worshipping the devil.
Other, more modern methods do not kill or maim too severely, and have been used effectively. Such as electrocution, cigarette burns, a few chinese methods and so on. Drugs... Loads of options. But again, you get the same problem. The victim will confess to anything. And often his zeal will not be broken, but strengthened. So in the case of a religious extremist whose beliefs you bolster by physical torture, what do you do? Well, you find something else. Something which does not spoil your information and does not spoil the victim physically.
In short; You break them. Mentally. If you can, attack the most fundamental part of their beliefs. Something essential to their belief or zeal. Attack their cause. Make it seem lost, make it seem futile. Convince them that you are superior and they are nougt but inferior dogs. Make them believe it. Whatever their culture or their belief finds the most degrading, force them to do that. Spit and beat, underline what you do with physical action, but focus mainly on the mental assaults. Kill and remove their identity and sense of belonging. Keep the people isolated, and only talking to eachother when it can strengthen your cause.
What's more, if it does leak you will not have that big of a trouble, because what makes headlines in such situations is mainly one thing; Death tolls. Keep the death toll nonexistant, and keep the headlines low too.
For a muslim, as far as I understand, it is an extreme assault to have his hair and beard shaved off. Being prevented from praying five times a day. It may not be very degrading to put a panty on your head. But what if another person had worn that panty for a month without changing. Being beaten and degraded to the point of him occasionally urinating in it. Then, you are commanded to pull it over your head. Imagine months and months in a hellish camp with constant mental assaults. With constant attacks on everything crucial to you, everything you believe and stand for being completely undermined and destroyed, and this would only be one piece in a major puzzle to break who you are. Torture is not merely crushing a foot. Or cutting, beating, electrocuting, burning... It is also mental harassment in the extreme.
torture
n 1: extreme mental distress [syn: anguish, torment] 2: unbearable physical pain [syn: torment] 3: intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain; "an agony of doubt"; "the torments of the damned" [syn: agony, torment]
It is all relative to many factors. I do not have a problem with putting a pair of clean boxers on my head in the right situation. But put that happening in the right circumstances and suddenly it can be extremely degrading and really really break you.
Do not underestimate a simple action in the right setting.
