Quantum Forest

I have been surprised by the large number of people justifying the use of torture when dealing with terrorism (in the framework of Mamdouh Habib’s case). The discussion reminded me of a short essay by Ariel Dorfman published on the 8^th of May 2004 in the Guardian (and in The Australian too) entitled: Are There Times When We Have to Accept Torture? The essay is not freely available for non-suscribers, but there are copies in many places like in this site (File Lost). The essay ends:

Are we that scared? Are we so scared that we are willing to knowingly let others perpetrate, in the dark and in our name, acts of terror that will eternally corrode and corrupt us?

I have met several people that were tortured under Pinochet’s regime and I would say: no, I am not that scared to justify what these people suffered. I wasn’t then and I am not now.

Does it mean that we need to accept terrorism? Not at all; but fighting terror with terror is more a sign of a desperate society than of a just cause.