Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Torture tactics didn’t help America

Recent articles accurately reported on the Bush administration’s interrogation program. I am a former U.S. Army interrogator and taught interrogation for five years. It is appalling that many Americans still believe using torture to extract intelligence information from detainees is appropriate.

It is said detainees were not protected by the Geneva Conventions due to their irregular status. Detainees, however, are covered under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention and Articles 43 and 44 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.

The Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture concluded the CIA’s interrogation techniques were not effective in obtaining intelligence information and did not gain cooperation from detainees, and the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program damaged the United States’ standing in the world.

Americans were told torture was necessary to protect us from another attack. Americans must awaken to the idea that torture did not protect us. It is outrageous to think we were helped. The goal regarding intelligence is to get it quickly and accurately. Through torture, you get neither.

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