Just finished watching the movie Unthinkable...

[davbrucas]

And it got me to thinking...is it okay to torture and kill a couple American citizens (kids included) if it meant that we could save millions of other's lives?

[SMEGMA STENCH]

Torture? No. Put down painlessly... debatable.

[Forever_frost]

And it got me to thinking...is it okay to torture and kill a couple American citizens (kids included) if it meant that we could save millions of other's lives?

Torturing someone to save millions? Yes. However, I could forsee no circumstance that would call for torturing American citizens and children to save anyone

[davbrucas]

So you let millions of Americans die rather than torture one or two to get info that would save the others? In the movie, an American citizen places some nuclear bombs around the nation and is tortured to try to get the locations. He did give the info even when tortured (fingers cut off, waterboarding, electricity, etc) but when they brought in his kids to get tortured, he broke...

[The King]

And it got me to thinking...is it okay to torture and kill a couple American citizens (kids included) if it meant that we could save millions of other's lives?

Yes

[GSXRK5]

I'd have to say yes. Especially if the threat is very very real. That could be my wife/kids/family.

[Pur Vnm]

I'd say yes, too. Problem is, people that would do something like this consider their families either expendable or collateral damage. Who's to say that the information extracted, would be complete or reliable?

[UserX]

So you let millions of Americans die rather than torture one or two to get info that would save the others? In the movie, an American citizen places some nuclear bombs around the nation and is tortured to try to get the locations. He did give the info even when tortured (fingers cut off, waterboarding, electricity, etc) but when they brought in his kids to get tortured, he broke...

Way to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it!

I say yes, it is OK if the means justify the end. The question is, where do you draw the line?

[Broncojohnny]

No because you can't trust government with that kind of power, next thing you know we will be torturing people for lesser crimes or for no crime at all.

[silverhatch]

Way to spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it!

I say yes, it is OK if the means justify the end. The question is, where do you draw the line?

There can't be a line for this to work that is part of the point of the movie.It is a must see.

[UserX]

There can't be a line for this to work that is part of the point of the movie.It is a must see.

I've seen the movie, you misunderstood my "line".

(In the movie) It's OK to torture people to save millions of lives, but is it OK to save 100,000 lives? What about 50,000 lives? That's what I meant.

[sc281]

Nope.

[davbrucas]

I agree...where does it stop? I can see doing it to prevent those deaths, but a part of me isnt okay with it no matter how many lives are at stake. We cannot resort to the very tactics that terrorists use on us to prevent terrorism from occurring.

[silverhatch]

I've seen the movie, you misunderstood my "line".

(In the movie) It's OK to torture people to save millions of lives, but is it OK to save 100,000 lives? What about 50,000 lives? That's what I meant.

Got ya I went the wrong way with it.

[UserX]

Got ya I went the wrong way with it.

I could see how you could, in context to the movie, and I wasn't very specific. I thought it was a great flick, and thought provoking for sure. The movie sure made it seem justifiable.