Interview With Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell on CIA Enhanced Interrogation Program

CIA and Torture

            The United Nations Convention against Torture defines torture as “any activity by which sever pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining a confession, punishing him for an act he has committed, or intimidating or coercing, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation with the consent of a public official.”[1] In the same convention, the United Nations prohibits torture and declares that there are “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever”. Thus, it is clear that the most prominent international organization considers torture an attack against human rights. However, in an interview with the former Deputy Director of the CIA during the war in Afghanistan Michael Morell, torture (or as the CIA calls them: “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques”) is justified. This brings up the sociological question of what goes into creating this in-group and out-group dynamics that allows torture to occur. In addition, it forces us to confront the sociological impact of justifying torture via these group dynamics.

 Michael Morell outlines reasons why he does not consider the CIA’s interrogation techniques as torture and does not violate any because “… To call it torture says my guys were torturers. And they were told that they were not. They were told they were doing something legal.”[2] Thus, to the CIA and those carrying out the torture, it was justified and was not illegal. Making the torture seem like it was within the boundaries of law and morality allows the torturers commit heinous acts against humanity with little guilt. In addition, the CIA is convinced that a ton of information came from the program that eventually saved lives and stopped terror plots. As Morell puts it, “I have no doubts after looking at this that it was effective”. Essentially, because it was effective, it is justified. Sociologically, this shows us that people a stronger group deems deviant is then less than human and human rights protections no longer apply to the now deviant group.

Morell reminds us that the enhanced interrogation program “was not C.I.A.’s program. It was America’s Program.” Thus, the implication is that a stronger nation (or in-group) can set different standards of treatment for those belonging to the out-group of deviants. Doing this in the arena of Human Rights degrades the very meaning of Human Rights. Human Rights are supposed to be inalienable and are immune to circumstance. Letting a group like the U.S. get away with it is a display of how powerful dominant society is over deviant society.

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[1] "Convention against Torture." Convention against Torture. United Nations Convention Against Torture, 26 June 1987. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx>.

[2] "VICE News Interviews the CIA’s Former Deputy Director Michael Morell."VICE News. VICE News, 26 June 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <https://news.vice.com/video/vice-news-interviews-the-cias-former-deputy-director-michael-morell>.