Defending necessity – a critical issue for the military

The issue of torture has once again become a prominent issue owing to the recent disclosure by former U.S. President George W. Bush, who indicated in an interview with an English newspaper that he had authorised the use of ‘waterboarding’ during the interrogation of suspected terrorists. The question as to whether or not coercive interrogational techniques should be used has several different dimensions, the legal aspects of which are the least straightforward when explored.