Intrigue.

The current news involves state security and the level of extreme acts to obtain vital information from unfortunate individuals. I believe there are two major problems.

If I was being tortured I would say anything to stop the procedure and I am sure everyone else would do the same. Also what level of torture would produce reliable information?

As a matter of fact a paid informant could give unreliable information if he or she knew only information that confirmed what the interrogator thought would be paid for.

Suppose hypothetically information obtained by torture was of some value. What sort of civilisation would we be protecting.

A CIA report into torture has been modified at the request of the British Government. That act can only confirm doubts and an unwillingness for the public to know the real truth about torture.

The statement National Security can be true but also conceal anything you do not want the public to know.

Mahatma Gandhi at one time was considered a threat to National Security.

Nelson Mandela was also a threat to National Security.

The biggest threat to National Security is the moral character of the people in charge of protecting it.

This reminds me of a true historical story of a boy king of England. At that time there were competing lords who wished to steal the throne for themselves. The boy king was accompanied
by a plotting lord who was not quite ready to usurp the king but he saw one of his rivals approaching. The plotting lord seized the opportunity and in a loud voice cried “traitor.” He stepped forward with his drawn sword and instantly killed his rival.

Sometimes things are not always what they seem.