Cornell International Affairs Review - Volume 03, Number 2 (Spring/Summer 2010)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Influence Operations as Counterinsurgency: A Strategy of DivisivenessWorby, Sam (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item The Burdensome Neighbor: South Africa and the Zimbabwe DilemmaMiller, Andrew (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item Human Trafficking, the Japanese Commercial Sex Industry, and the Yakuza: Recommendations for the Japanese GovernmentJones, Amanda (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item Elusive Economic Development in the Maghreb and BeyondOudghiri, Taha; Benjellous, M'hammed (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item Singing in the Wilderness: Kuchi Nomads in Modern AfghanistanKer, Michelle; Locke, Jacob (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)The word kuchi conjures up a romantic but ultimately anachronistic lifestyle—tattooed women in red and gold embroidered dresses and men riding alongside flocks of goat and sheep; the reality, however, differs starkly. The past two decades of armed conflict, poverty and socioeconomic change have had a profound impact on Afghanistan’s kuchi nomads, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have identified them as one of the country’s largest vulnerable populations.1 In contemporary academia, though, there has been a dearth of literature that links issues particularly salient to the kuchi—the pastoral economy, internal displacement, and their relations with the Afghan government as well as other societal groups—to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. Modernity requires that the kuchi no longer be distinct and removed from the Afghan state. Kuchi participation and representation in government is the necessary first step for their issues to be effectively addressed; at the same time, cautious measures must be taken to preserve their culture and distinctive lifestyle.Item Judging Wars: The International Politics of Humanitarian AdjudicationIp, Eric C.; Yuen, Giselle T. C. (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item NATO's Dilemma: Asset Specificity and the Challenge of Securing AfghanistanShabab, Safwan B. (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)On the 60th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's founding, Afghanistan provides a unique opportunity for the alliance to prove its strength beyond Europe and combat global security threats from terrorism and instability.2Item No Guts No Glory: Essential Elements For Post-War ReconstructionWay, William (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item Cornell International Affairs Review: Spring/Summer 2010Cornell International Affairs Review, Editorial Board (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Item Torturing America: Securing the American InterestPasha, Zain (Cornell University Library, 2010-05-01)Even before his inauguration, President Barack Obama made it clear that he believed torture was morally reprehensible and promised that under his administration the U.S. would no longer practice torture. Accordingly, on April 16th, 2009 Mr. Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice authorized the release of C.I.A memos detailing the methods of torture that were authorized under the George W. Bush administration. The release of the C.I.A. memos elicited an almost immediate reaction from former Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney, who in an interview with Fox News on April 21st, 2009 criticized Mr. Obama for failing to disclose documents detailing the “success” of torture in garnering intelligence that was vital to the U.S. War on Terrorism.3 Mr. Obama’s efforts to discredit torture as a justifiable tool for preserving U.S. national security and Mr. Cheney’s rebuke of those efforts attest to the importance and contentious nature of the debate about whether torture is in the U.S national interest. Using this debate as motivation, I answer the question of whether or not the use of torture is in the U.S. national interest. To do this, I first chronicle the history of U.S. torture practices since the Cold War to provide a reference point for the rest of the paper. Second, I empirically demonstrate the negative impact of these practices on international U.S. credibility, the War on Terrorism and U.S. presidential approval ratings. Third, I consider the theoretical value of torture in context to its empirical utility as an intelligence-gathering tool, and vis-à-vis possible alternatives, to ultimately make a qualitative assessment of torture’s actual utility for preserving U.S. national security. Finally, I compare the international and domestic consequences of U.S. torture (section 2) to its actual utility (section 3) to ultimately conclude that torture is not in the U.S. national interest.