The War on
Terror was declared by George W. Bush in 2001, after the 9/11 attacks took
place. There are many parts and components to the War on Terror, including
extradition, rendition, torture, drone strikes, and targeted killing or
signature strikes. While the War on Terror is not terrorism, in itself, certain
components of the War on Terror may be considered acts of terrorism. The major
conflict in this debate is the varying opinions on whether a state can commit
terrorism, but if one answers yes to that question, or if one disregards the
question, it is clear that some of the tactics that the United States of
America uses, in its War on Terror, especially black sites, torture, and
targeted killing and signature strikes, can be considered acts of terrorism.
Black sites are
areas of the world where the United States holds terror suspects far away from
the US. These sites are often unregulated and usually consist of systems where
fewer protection rights are included and considered. In these secret sites, what
goes on is hidden and ignored, and although that may not be terrorism, terror undoubtedly
takes place at these black sites, and it is very possible that there are inhumane
conditions.
Torture is a
tactic that is used either as a punishment, or as a strategy to extract
information from a potential suspect, or someone who has valuable knowledge on
a particular situation. When using torture as a
tactic, officials will inflict severe pain on the person being interrogated to
force the person to do something, or to say something of value. There are
arguments for using torture as a tactic, and there are arguments that are
against using torture as a tactic. When using torture as a tactic to gain
information from a valuable and knowledgeable person, it does not always prove
to be successful. A lot of times, the person being interrogated will answer the
questions with false or misleading information. When a person is under extreme
and stressful conditions, such as torture, the priority and more prominent goal
is obviously to break free from the immense stress or pain. The person will say
or do anything to get away quickly, including giving false information to the
officials. If torture is not as useful and successful as it was once thought to
be, then putting a person in a situation where he or she is facing extremely
stressful and painful circumstances is unarguably a form of terror, and
depending on the details, this can be seen as terrorism.
In other
situations, torture and terror are used as a way to punish a person for an act
that he or she has committed. This is unnecessary because if the person
committed this crime, he or she should be tried fairly, and should be given a fair
and just sentence.
Targeted
killing, and signature strikes are very similar tactics, but are a bit
different. Targeted killings are extrajudicial executions based on knowledge
that the person committed a crime or attack. A signature strike, on the other
hand, is when a suspect is killed based on a pattern of behavior that is
consistent with terrorist activity. Civilians do become victims to these
attacks sometimes. In addition, the information may not be 100% accurate.
Targeted killing and signature strikes are two tactics that inflict immense
terror onto people.