This chapter develops the general argument that the practice of torture and "near-torture" cannot be justified on utilitarian groups. When torture occurs, evidence of its being practiced almost always emerges. If some suspects linked to an identified enemy (such as al Qaeda) are tortured, then inevitably all such suspects will claim to have been tortured in order to discredit the values, credibility, and character of the state that engages in torture. The state thus loses its identity based on core values of human rights, which leads to mistrust and disrespect not only among enemies and potential enemies, but also among its own citizens and the civilized nations of the world. A degeneration of human-rights values under a regime of torture creates a climate in which new moralities are created and previous moral considerations are discarded under a climate of blind obedience in which victims are dehumanized and personal and social accountability is neutralized. When such a climate develops, more and more of the state's institutions and its professionals are drawn into the degeneration of professional ethics in order to comply with the approved "patriotic" response to a hated enemy. 34 references