The most common misconception is that torture is more likely to give you actionable intelligence. Torture is useful for one thing: Getting the victim to say whatever will make the pain stop, true or not. (Consider how many people confessed to witchcraft or similar crimes during the Inquisition, Crusades, and their offshoots.) It's why courts in Western countries consider evidence obtained under torture to be inadmissible.

The sad part is that people are even having this discussion. It really should end after "Torture is immoral. We must not do it. We're better than that as a country."

valguarnera@carrionfields.com