©2003. International Journal of Applied Philosophy 17:1. ISSN 0738-098X. pp. 105–118 Terrorism and Torture Fritz Allhoff University of California Santa Barbara 1. INTRODUCTION After the events of 9/11, the concept of torture has emerged as one that is both pertinent and provoking. National polls have shown that some Ameri- cans support torture in some situations, though the majority still stand op- posed. Torture has not received a tremendous amount of discussion in the philosophical literature, though I suspect that the leftward slant of academia would, for the most part, ensure limited support for torture. In this paper, I would like to first discuss why torture is an important issue and then ad- vance an argument that supports torture in limited cases. The Encyclopedia of Ethics defines torture as “the deliberate infliction of violence, and through violence, severe mental and/or physical suffering upon individuals. It may be inflicted by individuals or groups and for diverse ends, ranging from extracting information, confession, admission of culpability or liability, and self-incrimination to general persuasion, intimidation, and amusement.” 1 I think that this is a good definition. Notably, torture is not necessarily a form of punishment, though it could be—both deterrence and retribution theorists could advance arguments in its support. Rather, torture can also be used instrumentally in order to achieve important aims, such as the acquisition of important information. It is of course worth noting that torture is illegal in the United States and that no United States agency can legally engage in torture abroad. 2 As abso- lute as this policy stance seems, there are important questions regarding its implications. For example, if an American intelligence official is standing quietly in the corner of a room while a foreign government subjugates a ter- rorist suspect to torture, has the American government violated its mandate? Less hypothetically, American officials have admitted that the United States has transferred prisoners to the intelligence agencies of Jordan, Egypt, and/ or Morocco, all of which are known for using torture as a method of interro- gation. Reportedly, some of these prisoners have even been handed over along with lists of questions to which they might know the answers and whose answers would be valuable to the United States. 3 While the transfer might not always be accompanied by a list of questions, it would be very naïve to think that the United States would not welcome and has not accepted the