On one infamous day the entire world stood still watching planes crash into the Twin Towers, watching black smoke rise over the New York City skyline, watching people jump thousands of feet in the air to avoid being burned alive. We recognize, remember and relive this fateful day every September 11th since 2001. As the first attack on United States soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, September 11th ushered Americans into a state of fear, years of war and, above all, in the awareness that we are not immune from terrorism. In the years that followed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) initiated efforts to acquire information from the terrorists behind the attacks in any way possible. This sparked the construction of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the shameful and inhumane torture of people in the name of justice. Despite their barbaric tactics, malicious lies, and vicious persecution of human beings, the CIA's torture of detainees has had little to no influence on the safety of Americans from terrorist attacks. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay During World War II, Nazi Germany tortured civilians belonging to alias powers, prisoners of war, and those suspected of being disloyal to their cause. Many believe that torture worked for the Gestapo, Hitler's state secret police, however, "...most of their information [came] from public intelligence, informants and cooperation agencies" (Rejali). Sure, the Gestapo practiced torture, but the results were not substantial. After the "brutal torture" of the "senior leaders of the French, Danish, Polish and German resistance", the Gestapo "failed to break" them either. Darius Rejali, a Washington Post writer who actively studies events during World War II, says that in years of "collecting all the Gestapo torture cases" "successful"... the number is small and the results [are] pathetic,”. Furthermore, why would the United States of America, a country that has fought courageously to defend our nation and uphold our moral values, stoop to the level of a police force known for the genocide of millions of Jews? Torture, in any case, is not the answer in matters of terrorism. Furthermore, prisoners may provide false or misleading information to stop being tortured. There are many cases and examples of prisoners who have provided false information or confessed to crimes they did not commit to end the pain. Article by Michael Ignatieff of Human Rights Watch cites two examples of this: Magdalena Monteza and Bill Sampson, a 19-year-old Peruvian student, was arrested as an "alleged subversive." The teenager was not only tortured by her captors, but also raped again and again until she confessed to "being part of a revolutionary cell". Monteza is quoted as saying, "I couldn't stand the torture, so I decided to sign [a confession]. I confessed to things I had never done" (Ignatieff). Additionally, Sampson shared his story about being tortured in Saudi Arabia. Under pressure and scared for his life, like Monteza, Sampson, "...admitted to being part of a network responsible for attacks and murders" (Ignatieff). A final example, much more important for American torture, comes from Kahlid Sheikh Mohammed, the “mastermind” behind 9/11 who arguably rejected the new era of torture in the United States. This man, who took thousands of lives in the name of terrorism and shook the foundations of ourscountry, lied on occasion to CIA interrogators while being tortured. He was reported to have been waterboarded, or "drowned" through stimulation, 183 times. Once it was for "failing to confirm a 'nuclear suitcase' plot that the CIA later deemed a hoax." Additionally, he was again boarded for producing a "fabricated confession about recruiting black Muslims in Montana" (Dilanian and Klapper). He was subjected to water boarding and tortured in other extreme ways, the other 181 times are unknown. Despite examples like these, many Americans firmly believe that torture keeps us safe, although this sentiment has continually been proven false. In an article by Ken Dilanian and Bradley Klapper of the Associated Press, a report "finds [that] the CIA's brutal tactics did not make the United States safer after 9/11." The Senate Intelligence Committee conducted the report over the course of a few years. This condensed 500-page review, published in late 2014, does not include the full investigation, which spanned more than 6,700 pages. According to the article, "...'enhanced interrogation techniques' did not produce the results that really mattered... cites CIA cables, emails, and interview transcripts to refute the central justification for torture - which it has foiled terrorist plots and saved American lives,” (Dilanian and Klapper). However, the CIA strongly disagrees, going so far as to state that information gathered through torture methods such as "sleep deprivation, stimulated drowning, slapping and beating, and threats to kill, harm, or sexually abuse prisoners' family members," leads to the killing of Osama bin Laden. In any case, this is the same agency that has broken international laws, such as the Geneva Conventions, that has lied to both the American people and the United States government for which they are responsible about their unconventional methods, that has physically harmed , mentally and emotionally corrupt has scarred hundreds of suspected terrorists. Ultimately, after reviewing more than 6 million documents relating to torture committed by the CIA, the Senate Intelligence Committee declared: "...failed to find any examples of unique, life-saving intelligence gathered by coercive techniques," and the report it also "debunks the CIA's claim [that] its practices led to the killing of bin Laden" (Dilanian and Klapper). Alternatively, proponents of torture tactics invoke the hypothetical time bomb situation. This scenario is as follows: 1. A terrorist group reveals that it has a bomb planted in a metropolitan area, such as London, New York, or Paris, 2. Those responsible, such as the FBI or CIA, find and capture the leader of the terrorist group, 3. The leader knows the location of the bomb, but refuses to divulge the information, 4. Torture ensues, and according to those who fiercely support this scenario, the leader will reveal the location in time to save and protect innocent civilians (BBC). In Monteza and Sampson's stories, innocent people were forced to give false testimony about crimes they had not committed. On the other hand, Sheikh Mohammed, a well-trained and educated mastermind behind an attack similar to the one cited in the time bomb scenario, has withstood over 183 stimulated drownings among other torture techniques that the CIA and government will not share with the American people. If a true and concrete example of a terrorist, who committed one of the most atrocious attacks on American soil since 1941, withstood months and months of brutal and barbaric torture, how can we say with certainty, how can we blindly defend ourselves, how can we think to take this.