The United Nations defines torture as any act by which severe physical or mental pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person for purposes such as obtaining information or a confession, or punishing a person for an act which he is suspected of having committed. Torture also includes intimidation or coercion of a person for any reason based on discrimination of any kind when a person acting in an official capacity inflicts pain or suffering (Convention Against Torture par. 2). Although some people believe that torture is acceptable, it is in reality neither an acceptable nor reliable method of obtaining information and should not be continued. In his article, When Is Torture Legal, Josh Clark discusses the Convention on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment by the United Nations in 1984. This convention led to an international treaty signed by 74 countries, including the States, which strictly prohibits the act of torture as well as the outsourcing of torture to other countries where such methods are legal. There are no exceptional circumstances whatsoever that can be used as a justification for torture (Clark para. 4). Torture has been used throughout history as a means of interrogation, punishment and coercion. While it is certainly a step in the right direction, the 1984 torture ban has been violated repeatedly, both in the United States and in other countries. Maureen Ramsay once describes such a violation in her article “Can Torture of Terrorist Suspects Be Justified? " U.S. agents at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan used interrogation techniques they described as "light torture." Prisoners were held standing or kneeling for long periods with their arms shackled... center of sheet......ghraib.html?scp=2>.Mazzetti, Mark and Scott Shane. "Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh CIA Tactics" The New York Times - Breaking news, world news and multimedia . 16 April 2009. Web. 09 April 2011. "No torture. No exceptions." The Washington Monthly. January-February 2008. Web. 06 April 2011. .Ramsay, Maureen. "Can Torture of Terrorist Suspects Be Justified?" International Journal of Human Rights 10.2 (2006): 103-119. EBSCO. Network. March 24, 2011. "Yes, it was torture and illegal." The New York Times - Breaking news, world news and media.>.