Much as I like Peter Quinn, I do not approve of his interrogation techniques ...
In the season 2 episode Q&A, Carrie and Team, again violate a bunch of US legislation regarding CIA jurisdiction on US soil.
They grab Brody and interrogate him in a CIA black site presumably somewhere in Virginia i.e. on US soil. In order to set Carrie up as the Good Cop, Quinn plays bad cop and stabs Brody through the hand. It's a cool dramatic moment showing us how clever, psychologically adept Peter Quinn is. He's bad ass, he knows how to get Brody to behave. Only problem is, hand stabbing counts as torture in my books - and quite a few other books, too ...
For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
- The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 1
Yes it's fictional, yes they were trying to avert a terrorist attack on US soil, yes for some the ends justifies the means, yes it makes for dramatic story-telling ... but it's an aspect of Quinn's character that I find quite unsettling. Were there other ways to get Brody to cooperate? Probably. Would they have taken longer? Probably. Was the torture justified? I still say no ...
And yes, I do know that it goes on and that all sides use it ... I still feel how I feel though.
Some thought provoking articles about CIA/US torture here.
They grab Brody and interrogate him in a CIA black site presumably somewhere in Virginia i.e. on US soil. In order to set Carrie up as the Good Cop, Quinn plays bad cop and stabs Brody through the hand. It's a cool dramatic moment showing us how clever, psychologically adept Peter Quinn is. He's bad ass, he knows how to get Brody to behave. Only problem is, hand stabbing counts as torture in my books - and quite a few other books, too ...
For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
- The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 1
Yes it's fictional, yes they were trying to avert a terrorist attack on US soil, yes for some the ends justifies the means, yes it makes for dramatic story-telling ... but it's an aspect of Quinn's character that I find quite unsettling. Were there other ways to get Brody to cooperate? Probably. Would they have taken longer? Probably. Was the torture justified? I still say no ...
And yes, I do know that it goes on and that all sides use it ... I still feel how I feel though.
Some thought provoking articles about CIA/US torture here.