I have written in the past that
torture is incompatible with republicanism
; and it has been known that torture produces incorrect results. Case in point, the capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The same captives were under detainment that uses torture, and then replaced by a new intelligence unit who used standard and non-coercive techniques.
The latter produced the intelligence which led to Zarqawi's death
.
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Cesare Beccaria was an Italian economist who published,
Essay on Crimes and Punishment
in 1764. It contains an excellent argument against torture.
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Here's a handy rule of thumb: If you are beating detainees to death, there's a fair chance that what you're doing counts as torture... Julian Sanchez sifts through some detail on the All American Gulag. (more)
Modern Australian Republicanism is predicated on the supremacy of the individual, and the government deriving their legitimacy to make laws from the consent of the people. The basis for this consent is void when individual rights are violated by the government. Rights exist for all individuals under the jurisdiction of the government's ability to make and execute laws - a right is not unique to a citizen, nor an individual from a majority - they are universal to all. Torture is a contravention of an individual's rights, and an individual's consent to the civil legal system; consequently it represents government tyranny. Torture is a vehicle of state oppression and intimidation. It has no place in an Australian Republic.
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