http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/press-release/interrogation-intelligence-professionals-take-stand-against-torture

October 01, 2014

Interrogation, Intelligence Professionals Take Stand against Torture

Washington, D.C. – Seventeen of the nation's most respected interrogation and intelligence professionals today released a statement expressing their opposition to torture, arguing that the practice is illegal, ineffective, counterproductive, and immoral. In a statement of principles released today, the experts – which include intelligence gathering professionals from the armed services, CIA, FBI, NCIS, and federal law enforcement, some of whom have interrogated core al Qaeda members – reaffirmed their commitment to effective interrogation procedures that best protect national security, adhere to international standards of detainee treatment, and are supported by behavioral science research.
“Torture and other forms of abusive or coercive techniques often serves to strengthen an individual’s resolve to resist, deepen his commitment to a cause, serve as a foundational theme for recruiting campaigns designed to attract others to violent extremism, and generate a lingering division among allies and international partners,” wrote the signatories of today’s statement. “In sum, it not only undermines an interrogator’s ability to elicit useful information, it also undermines our nation’s ability to counter threats to its security. Torture makes our nation less secure.”