Since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, America has been forced to reexamine the balance between liberty and security.
When Congress authorized President George W. Bush to take retaliatory measures after September 11, suspected terrorists were captured and questioned as a means to gain information critical to the security of Americans and their allies. A detention center for many of these suspects was the Guantanamo Bay base on Cuba, where, we came to learn, extremely harsh interrogation techniques were not uncommon. In response to allegations of torture, the Bush Administration concluded that the Geneva Conventions, which prescribe humane treatment of prisoners, did not apply to terrorists who were not lawful combatants. Using our reading and research, discuss the legal and ethical limits of justifying such practices.