--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My take on the torture thing and even…" description: "\"My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're going to get into assassination and torture, the second question is the morality, but the fir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg" --- # My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're… ![“My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're going to get into assassination and torture, the second question is the morality, but the first is the effectiveness of it.” quote by Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg) > “My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're going to get into assassination and torture, the second question is the morality, but the first is the effectiveness of it.” [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effectiveness should be evaluated before moral considerations in violent tactics. **In simple terms:** Check how well something works before judging its ethics. Key Takeaway Assess effectiveness first. Themes ethics effectiveness security Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - military operations - counterterrorism - policy making Key Concepts morality strategic analysis Questions to Reflect On - Is a method truly effective if it’s covert? - Can moral judgment be postponed indefinitely? A Different Perspective Effectiveness can be hard to measure objectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) [Assassination Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination-torture-5184889/) [Drones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drones/) [Effectiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effectiveness/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Question Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-morality-880701/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Torture Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture-second-5184890/) [Torture Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture-thing-696691/) ## Related quotes > [I take my own experience and other assassinations through history and get a lot into the drone program, which doesn't work, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-take-my-own-experience-and-other-assassinations-through-history-and/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [If waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-waterboarding-does-not-constitute-torture-then-there-is-no-such/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“So, so we have to beat it out of you or are you going to confess willingly, 'cause you know I'm into the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/so-so-we-have-to-beat-it-out-of-you-or-are-you-going-to-confess/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) > [The Obama administration is dedicated to increasing terrorism. In fact, he is doing it all over the world. Obama is running the biggest terrorist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-obama-administration-is-dedicated-to-increasing-terrorism-in-fact/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Where land mines are indiscriminate, cheap, and brutal, drones are discriminate, expensive, and brutal. And yet they are insufficiently discriminate: the assassination of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/where-land-mines-are-indiscriminate-cheap-and-brutal-drones-are/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [In fact, it's doing it all over the world. Obama, first of all, is running the biggest terrorist operation that exists, maybe in history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-fact-it-s-doing-it-all-over-the-world-obama-first-of-all-is/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Everyone knows drones are being deployed outside the US for assassinations. Let's say you even believe in drones. Shouldn't we have a system that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greenwald/everyone-knows-drones-are-being-deployed-outside-the-us-for/) [Robert Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greenwald/) > [Some people think that in order to lead a morally decent life one may sometimes have to forego the possibility of having a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-scheffler/some-people-think-that-in-order-to-lead-a-morally-decent-life-one-may/) [Samuel Scheffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-scheffler/) > [“Make dressing a question of taste and attractiveness instead of a question of morality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/make-dressing-a-question-of-taste-and-attractiveness-instead-of-a/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [There was never any question about the morality of hunting, but neither was there any acceptance of killing for the sake of a trophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/there-was-never-any-question-about-the-morality-of-hunting-but/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“Remorse overwhelmed the old man. He had indeed been foolish to agree to allow this game to dictate the outcome of their dispute. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-b-boyer/remorse-overwhelmed-the-old-man-he-had-indeed-been-foolish-to-agree/) [Dennis B. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-b-boyer/) > [“Education is fundamentally religious. Consequently, there is no question about whether a morality will be imposed in that education, but rather which morality will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/education-is-fundamentally-religious-consequently-there-is-no/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [Conservation is not merely a question of morality, but a question of our own survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/conservation-is-not-merely-a-question-of-morality-but-a-question-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [... the average Catholic perceives no connection between religion and morality, unless it is a question of someone else's morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-average-catholic-perceives-no-connection-between-religion-and/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Robert Baer > [The US have dealt with Iran. I'm not saying attack it; I'm saying we should have taken it seriously. The Iranian connection to 9/11…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-us-have-dealt-with-iran-i-m-not-saying-attack-it-i-m-saying-we/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [I don't trust American intelligence. You look at the torture report from the Senate: People inside the CIA are saying that it doesn't work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-don-t-trust-american-intelligence-you-look-at-the-torture-report/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [“On one level, Americans are too distant from the Middle East, too naive to understand its complexities and history. On another, it's the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/on-one-level-americans-are-too-distant-from-the-middle-east-too-naive/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [If you want prisoners to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear – never to see them again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/if-you-want-prisoners-to-be-tortured-you-send-them-to-syria-if-you/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [The first suicide bombing that entered my consciousness was the Beirut embassy bombing. It was very personal. I'd been in the embassy and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-first-suicide-bombing-that-entered-my-consciousness-was-the/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [There is a tendency in any conflict, especially in a democracy, to fight the enemy you can, not the enemy you should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/there-is-a-tendency-in-any-conflict-especially-in-a-democracy-to/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Did bin Laden act alone, through his own al-Qaida network, in launching the attacks? About that I'm far more certain and emphatic: no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/did-bin-laden-act-alone-through-his-own-al-qaida-network-in-launching/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Egypt is the next domino to fall and, as they say, so goes Egypt so goes the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/egypt-is-the-next-domino-to-fall-and-as-they-say-so-goes-egypt-so/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [The CIA is an incompetent bureaucracy, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-cia-is-an-incompetent-bureaucracy-generally/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/bethlehem-was-god-with-us-calvary-was-god-for-us-and-pentecost-is-god/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [I truly believe that if torture had worked and there was a case to be made for it, we would see that on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-truly-believe-that-if-torture-had-worked-and-there-was-a-case-to-be/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Destroying Iraq was the greatest strategic blunder this country has made in its history. Unless we change course, there's every reason to believe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/destroying-iraq-was-the-greatest-strategic-blunder-this-country-has/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [I take my own experience and other assassinations through history and get a lot into the drone program, which doesn't work, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-take-my-own-experience-and-other-assassinations-through-history-and/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [It seems to me it's always the evil we refuse to see that does us the greatest harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/it-seems-to-me-it-s-always-the-evil-we-refuse-to-see-that-does-us-the/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) [Explore all 15 Robert Baer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) ## More Assassination quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [“Assassination is murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In modern day academia, secretly assassinating your peers is not necessarily performed the same way it was in king Tarquins day. The growth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-spacey/in-modern-day-academia-secretly-assassinating-your-peers-is-not/) [Simon Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-spacey/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [Assassination's the fastest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/assassination-s-the-fastest-way/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“He also had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-hansen/he-also-had-a-condition-that-was-referred-to-as-granulated-eyelids/) [Ron Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-hansen/) > [“Hundreds of political assassinations related to minority races, labor leaders and spokesmen against fascism have taken place in the U.S. since World War II.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/hundreds-of-political-assassinations-related-to-minority-races-labor/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [However, after the assassination of Salman Taseer, the killer of Salman Taseer was welcomed by the religious fanatics. And they showered rose petals on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahbaz-bhatti/however-after-the-assassination-of-salman-taseer-the-killer-of-salman/) [Shahbaz Bhatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahbaz-bhatti/) > [There is not a single celebrated Southern name in any of the departments of human industry except those of war, assassination, lynching, murder, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-a-single-celebrated-southern-name-in-any-of-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think that the implication of King's assassination has not been fully appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/i-think-that-the-implication-of-king-s-assassination-has-not-been/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/the-senate-has-been-debased-to-the-level-of-a-forum-of-hate-and/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [A deep, black grief gripped Robert Kennedy in the months following his brother's assassination. He lost weight, fell into melancholy silences, wore his brother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-clarke/a-deep-black-grief-gripped-robert-kennedy-in-the-months-following-his/) [Thurston Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-clarke/) [Browse all 264 Assassination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're going to get into assassination and torture, the second question is the morality, but the first is the effectiveness of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Baer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-drones-is-if-we-re-going-to-get/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assassination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-drones-is-if-we-re-going-to-get/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/robert-baer-33434_assassination_my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-dr_3069280.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're going to get into assassination and torture, the…” — Robert Baer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Baer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My take on the torture thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-drones-is-if-we-re-going-to-get/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-drones-is-if-we-re-going-to-get/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```