Based on his knowledge on neuroscience shane omara comes to the conclusion that torture doesnt work, and that interrogation is far too important to be left to amateurs. In a book published monday, jose rodriguez, the former head of the cias clandestine service during the bush administration, defends the use of enhanced interrogation techniques eits such as. States whose agents engage in torture in a given year have a 93 percent chance of continuing to torture in the following year. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading why torture doesnt work. What is more, it damages memory and is highly likely to prod. If cruelty can extract secrets that will save lives, so. Torture is banned because it is cruel and inhumane. Prof omara, director of the tcd institute of neuroscience, has written a powerful, thoughtprovoking volume. S m omara torture is banned because it is cruel and inhumane. Worse, as shane omara, a professor of experimental brain research at trinity college dublin, wrote in a recent book, why torture doesnt work. The problem is that this is very likely mixed in with false intelligence and the torturer cannot know which is which. Jun, 2016 the old hands overwhelmingly believe that torture doesnt work. Why torture doesn t work the neuroscience of interrogation book.
But as shane omara writes in this account of the human brain under stress, another reason torture should never be condoned is because it does not work the way torturers assume it does in countless films and tv shows such as homeland and 24, torture is portrayed as a harsh necessity. But as shane omara writes in this account of the human brain under stress. Omara builds his case like a prosecutor, citing scientific studies and relentlessly poking holes in absurdities and. In countless films and tv shows such as homeland and 24, torture is portrayed as a harsh necessity. Why torture doesnt work by shane omara project syndicate. What if he were given the power to oblige any one person, or group of people, to read why torture doesnt work. Last year congress solidified the ban on torture by passing the mccainfeinstein amendment, ensuring that the united states can never again return to bushera torture policies. I elaborate the full case in my book, why torture doesnt work. Why torture doesnt work is specifically meant to counter the claims of the efficacy of torture to produce information. A former highlevel cia officer philip giraldi states. Why torture doesnt work by shane omara, 9780674743908, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. An interrogation aims to question somebody thoroughly, often in an aggressive manner to obtain information, or to extort a confession.
But as shane omara writes in this account of the human brain under stress, another reason torture should never be condoned is because it does not. Do you think torture is a good way to probe the longterm memory circuits. Since this real torture doesnt exist, the left has had to redefine it. Within this discourse, shane omaras book, why torture doesnt work. Bush administration, the cia employed what it called enhanced interrogation techniques on detainees around the world. Neuroscientist shane omaras book, why torture doesnt work. Nov 30, 2015 torture doesnt work because the information secured is deeply unreliable for reasons rooted deep in the functioning of our brains, according to a leading irish neuroscientist who presents a. Enhanced interrogation may get someone to talk, but theres no evidence that its the truth. Torture doesnt work because the information secured is deeply unreliable for reasons rooted deep in the functioning of our brains, according to a leading irish neuroscientist who presents a compelling evidencebased case against torture in a new book published by harvard university press this month. Omara builds his case like a prosecutor, citing scientific studies and relentlessly poking holes in absurdities and inconsistencies in documents. In similar vein, it also seems unlikely that the cia would have used torture to the extent that they did if it so clearly did not work, as the senate report appears to make out. It works well, so long as the goal is to extract a false confession. Dec 09, 2014 the senate report on the cias detention and interrogation program represents the most authoritative and comprehensive finding since the us launched its socalled war on terror more than.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Shane omaras new book casts morality aside to examine whether torture produces reliable information. The amendments main goal is to prohibit torture by demanding that all u. The neuroscience of interrogation invoking the relevant science, he shows that torture undermines the very neurocognitive mechanisms requisite for recalling veridical information. This included waterboarding simulated drowning, sleep deprivation to the point of hallucination, beatings, sexual humiliation, and threats to hurt a detainees children or rape a detainees mother. Why torture doesn t work is specifically meant to counter the claims of the efficacy of torture to produce information. Apr 02, 2014 cooper notes the work of the political scientist darius rejali, which has helped demonstrate one thing about torture. Omara presents us with the overwhelming scientific ev simply does not work. Nov 30, 2015 why torture doesn t work by shane omara, 9780674743908, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Heres what actually gets terrorists to tell the truth and. The other barrier to eliciting truthful information through torture is that the captive quickly learns that, as omara puts it, while im talking, im not being waterboarded. Torture quite definitely does work if its sole purpose is to punish the subject. The authors main argumentthat we could argue forever about the ethics of torture, but the point is moot if the techniques dont even work to solicit the information soughtis confirmed over and over as he works through experiments on the effects of sleep deprivation, pain, drowning, heating, cooling, sensory deprivation, and more. Alan dershowitz, the renowned legal scholar and civil libertarian, has stirred up a small hornets nest since the september 11 attacks by talking openly about the possibilities of sanctioning torture in america.
If cruelty can extract secrets that will save lives, so be. Science shows that torture doesnt work and is counterproductive. One book defending waterboarding doesnt change the fact. If constant use over thousands of years of human history indicates efficacy then he might seem to be right. When the senate released its socalled torture report in december 2014 the world would learn that, for years, the cia had used unimaginably brutal methods to interrogate its prisoners often without yielding any useful or truthful information. The neuroscience of interrogation kindle edition by omara, shane.
Why torture doesnt work shane omara harvard university press. The book given its subject as to how the brain and memory work when physical torture is applied as explained by a neuroscientist is complicated and not an easy read given the need to understand how the brain and nervous system works and interacts. Omara doesnt hide his abhorrence of torture, but he leaves ethical arguments against it to experts in that field. Many governments that have routinely tortured to obtain information have abandoned the practice when they discovered that other approaches actually worked better for. Real torture, you see, doesnt exist at the hands of this country.
Bush presidency, especially its seemingly interminable second term, was the ultimately useless media debate about the efficacy of torture in interrogating prisoners, particularly terrorism suspects. My research and book on the history and logic of torture show that it doesn t make america safer. Nov 26, 2015 what if he were given the power to oblige any one person, or group of people, to read why torture doesnt work. Worse, as shane omara, a professor of experimental brain research at trinity college dublin, wrote in a recent book, why torture doesn t work. Feb 27, 2018 why torture doesn t work the neuroscience of interrogation duration. Nov 30, 2015 the book given its subject as to how the brain and memory work when physical torture is applied as explained by a neuroscientist is complicated and not an easy read given the need to understand how the brain and nervous system works and interacts. The agency had long and adamantly defended its use of torture, staunchly arguing that it was not only just but necessary for the countrys safety.
Besides being cruel and inhumane, torture does not work the way torturers assume it does. But as shane omara writes in this account of the human brain under stress, another reason torture should never be condoned is because it does not work the way torturers assume it does. Dec 08, 2014 a report by the senate select committee on intelligence describes a yearslong c. But omaras book provides an immense service by debunking any lingering doubts about tortures efficacy as an intelligence gathering tool using scientific evidence. But it also requires the manual to be revised, within a year, to reflect current, evidencebased best practices for interrogation that dont involve the use of force. There is overwhelming evidence detailed in my new book, why torture doesnt work. The neuroscience of interrogation, is of central importance. One of these jesuits was friedrich spee, who responded to this poignant experiment on the psychology of torture by publishing a book in 1631.
Many governments that have routinely tortured to obtain information have abandoned the practice when they discovered that other approaches actually worked better for extracting information. Omara builds his case like a prosecutor, citing scientific studies and relentlessly poking holes in absurdities and inconsistencies in documents such as the torture memos. Dershowitz feels it is incumbent on him to lead a discussion on a choice he feels is. A report by the senate select committee on intelligence describes a yearslong c. The neuroscience of interrogation that the extreme stressors employed during torture force the brain away from. The old hands overwhelmingly believe that torture doesnt work.
Whether science matters to those who defend torture is another matter, as omara knows. My research and book on the history and logic of torture show that it doesnt make america safer. Omara makes clear, the book does not examine the other uses or rationales for torture, such as the production of false confessions, or the general exploitation of the prisoner show trials, turning a prisoner into. Heres what actually gets terrorists to tell the truth. Why torture doesnt work is the empirical case against torture, a reading of scientific research which concludes that torture is a poor method of extracting information, and that the people who argued for it and used it had no idea what they were doingthe message of science, according to omara, is unambiguous. Torture doesnt work except when it does december 11, 2012 20committee one of the more tedious aspects of the george w. Omara is a professor of experimental brain research at trinity college in dublin whose research addresses human memory, cognition, and decisionmaking as well as the effects of stress and depression on the. His findings appear in his new book, why torture doesnt work.
Cooper notes the work of the political scientist darius rejali, which has helped demonstrate one thing about torture. I think the people i would want to read this book are the mid to senior level policymakers these are often anonymous, but are centrally important to the business of governance and administration. May 20, 2016 based on his knowledge on neuroscience shane omara comes to the conclusion that torture doesnt work, and that interrogation is far too important to be left to amateurs. Torture doesnt work except when it does the xx committee.
Weve known for 400 years that torture doesnt work scientific. Nov 11, 2015 why torture doesnt work is a valuable book. As shane omaras account of the neuroscience of suffering reveals, extreme stress creates profound problems for memory, mood, and thinking, and sufferers predictably produce information that is deeply unreliable, or even counterproductive and dangerous. If cruelty can extract secrets that will save lives, so be it. Torture doesnt work because the information secured is deeply unreliable for reasons rooted deep in the functioning of our brains, according to a leading irish neuroscientist who presents a.
A former senior interrogator in iraq says that abusing prisoners results in unreliable information, costs american lives, and it still hasnt turned up bin laden. Takes a scientific look at how the brain operatesor doesnt under stress, and points to more humane ways of getting information. The senate report on the cias detention and interrogation program represents the most authoritative and comprehensive finding since the us launched its socalled war on terror more than. Why torture doesnt work shane omara harvard university. You will never find a prisoner having their fingernails pulled out, being forced to kneel on bamboo reeds, having extremities cut off, being skinned alive, or placed in an iron maiden. Why torture doesnt work the neuroscience of interrogation duration. An interrogation aims to question somebody thoroughly, often in an aggressive manner to. The neuroscience of interrogation, and theyre devastating. The neuroscience of interrogation, attempts to bridge the gap between what we think we know about how torture works and what neuroscientists and other researchers really do know. Instead, hes set himself the task of assessing the science behind a major justification for the. Why torture doesnt work the neuroscience of interrogation book.