The Role of Torture in Support of the Global War on Terror Intelligence Collection Effort

<p>The September 11 2001 attacks on the United States ushered in a new way of looking at the world for Americans. For the first time since World War II America's homeland had suffered an attack from outside forces. Unlike the attacks on military facilities in Hawaii however this act of violence was directed at civilians with the intent of spreading terror among them. The use of hijacked airliners as instruments of terror was a wake up call and it opened the nation's eyes to a sobering reality: the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were no longer sufficient barriers to the scourge of transnational terrorism threatening the rest of the world. In the eyes of President George W. Bush and his administration this new reality dictated a dramatic shift in thinking about the challenges of combating terrorism. Weapons of mass destruction capable of wreaking even greater destruction and loss of life were suddenly uncomfortably realistic possibilities - especially considering America's unmatched military superiority and the resultant probable use by future opponents of asymmetric means to attack the nation.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>