Comments on: Best Quote on Torture http://blog.dailycolonial.com/poliblog/2006/03/27/best-quote-on-torture/ Snark and intrigue from The Daily Colonial political columnists Thu, 17 May 2012 07:11:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 by: Anonymous http://blog.dailycolonial.com/poliblog/2006/03/27/best-quote-on-torture/#comment-93 Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:28:23 +0000 http://blog.dailycolonial.com/poliblog/2006/03/27/best-quote-on-torture/#comment-93 Here (http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/feature/ 2004/06/21/torture_algiers/index.html) is an article that contradicts the popular belief that the Battle of Algiers was won through the implementation of institutionalized torture. Instead, the article finds that overwhelming French force along with a number of other information systems gave the French the edge. "The French won the Battle of Algiers primarily through force, not by superior intelligence gathered through torture. Whoever authorized torture in Iraq undermined the prospect of good human intelligence. Even if the torture at Abu Ghraib served to produce more names ("actionable intelligence") and recruit informants, torture in the end polarized the population, eliminating the middle that might cooperate. Dividing the world into "friends" and "enemies," those who are with us or against us, meant that we lost the cooperation of those who wished to be neither or who were enemies of our enemies." Here (http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/feature/
2004/06/21/torture_algiers/index.html) is an article that contradicts the popular belief that the Battle of Algiers was won through the implementation of institutionalized torture. Instead, the article finds that overwhelming French force along with a number of other information systems gave the French the edge.

“The French won the Battle of Algiers primarily through force, not by superior intelligence gathered through torture. Whoever authorized torture in Iraq undermined the prospect of good human intelligence. Even if the torture at Abu Ghraib served to produce more names (”actionable intelligence̶ ;) and recruit informants, torture in the end polarized the population, eliminating the middle that might cooperate. Dividing the world into “friends” and “enemies,” those who are with us or against us, meant that we lost the cooperation of those who wished to be neither or who were enemies of our enemies.”

]]> by: Ian Hajek http://blog.dailycolonial.com/poliblog/2006/03/27/best-quote-on-torture/#comment-38 Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:42:28 +0000 http://blog.dailycolonial.com/poliblog/2006/03/27/best-quote-on-torture/#comment-38 What about the French experience in Algeria? In the battle of Algiers, the French used torture in an urban environment to great effect, as it is one of the few ways of rapidly getting intelligence from an individual in time to act on the intelligence. There’s a reason why torture is one of the few institutions that has survived all historical periods under every political system known to man-it works, and is more than just the indulgence of a sick individual. What about the French experience in Algeria? In the battle of Algiers, the French used torture in an urban environment to great effect, as it is one of the few ways of rapidly getting intelligence from an individual in time to act on the intelligence. There’s a reason why torture is one of the few institutions that has survived all historical periods under every political system known to man-it works, and is more than just the indulgence of a sick individual.

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