'Does not work' label wrong

One of the great canards of our time is that torture does not work. A basic tenet of behavior modification is that nonreinforced responses extinguish, i.e., ineffective methods are abandoned because they fail to produce desired results. Torture is probably as old as our species. Were it ineffective, it would not have survived the 200-millennial trek of our species whose survival and propagation depended upon skillful discovery and implementation of things that work.

That it doesn't work in all situations against all subjects seems a given. That torture subjects may tell their torturers anything (including misinformation) to escape pain seems also a given. Those "skilled" at employing torture know this and adapt their methods accordingly - while "salting" any information gained with these insights.

Sermons about torture's ineffectiveness are mythic tales intended to schmooze the simple-minded while advancing political agendas. Though heinous and reviled, the "does not work" label does not stick. What does not work are overly emoted responses to objectionable matters. Crusades are not won by phantom warriors wielding phantom weapons.

Les Lopinot

Oswego