With all due respect to the author of the Dec. 13 letter regarding the CIA investigation (“Media coverage undermines trust”), where does this myth about the “effectiveness of torture” come from? I would direct everyone to review comments from 2005 by Medal of Honor winner Army Col. (retired) Jack Jacobs about his experiences interrogating captives during the Vietnam War or his visits to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Col. Jacobs: “Down in Guantanamo Bay, there are instances in which lots of al-Qaida people will tell you anything that you want to know and tell as much truth as you want them to tell you if you give them the candy bar that they want or the magazine that they require…
“When I was in Vietnam, we were given the most intelligence, the best intelligence and had the most success with captives if we gave them cigarettes, medical care, food (and) water. Almost always, you get the best success from treating people properly.”
Perhaps Jack Bauer would disagree … I know who I’d trust.
Patrick Bertiaux
Everett
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