| Topic: | Re:Re:'UK Lives Saved by Waterboarding' | |
| Posted by: | Malcolm Peltu | |
| Date/Time: | 15/11/10 12:44:00 |
| 'The reason I asked the question without the uncertainties of real life is to establish some guidelines.' I appreciate that Francis and actually found it a useful trigger as it led me to think again about the issues, even if it lead me to different conclusions to yours. ut as with all such philosophical What Ifs I find their value dies when faced with the real-world contexts in which actual decisions are made. 'My guideline would always be the greater good.' I think that is a fine and widely held philosophical position, which I agree with in many contexts. But I don't think it gets around the difficulties of knowing what outcomes will actually be - which lies at the heart of my highlighting of Cameron's comment as it shows outcomes can be the reverse of what was expected so that maybe the greater good wasn't served even in Bush's terms. I favour policy/law adopting a clear line on the basis of what is deemed to be morally the best view (e.g. no torture). But I also believe that circumstances can arise where people take practical decisions in the genuine belief that they will saving lives by breaking the code and I hope that the circumstances will be taken into account in passing judgement (just as I hope that people who assist the death of a loved one for compassionate reasons aren't treated like violent murderers, although I think it right that murder in general should be illegal). War obviously provides a context where breaks from normal morality are sanctioned officially and specific codes of conduct have been drawn up through things like the Geneva convention. But the 'war on terror' is a different kind of confrontation, where the backlash highlighted by Cameron becomes an important factor to take into account I think. And that, together with apparent evidence that generally evidence gained from torture can be unreliable, woul lead me to say I hope I would say No in Bush's case. But I can't predict how I would actually behave in such an extreme situation. |