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29 Apr 2009 08:53 am
Why Is Torture Worse Than Warfare, Ctd.
Christopher Orr makes an important point:
...when a group of combatants are badly outnumbered, or surrounded, or otherwise very, very unlikely to win a conflict, they have a considerable incentive to surrender--but only if they believe they will subsequently be treated with mercy. That is why individuals, and nations, surrender. If, by contrast, a group of combatants believes that, by surrendering, they are only making themselves vulnerable to further harm--specifically torture and/or death--they have no incentive at all to stop fighting.
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That's What Sun Tzu Said
Excerpt: I noticed this paragraph, in a blog post by Christopher Orr at TNR (HT Sullivan): The humane treatment of surrendered captives, therefore, is a crucial--arguably the crucial--understanding between adversaries if their conflict is to end in any way othe...
Weblog: The Useless Tree
Tracked: Apr 29, 2009 1:07:56 PM
