To the Journal editor:

The (confirmation) of Gina Haspel as CIA director once again brings the idea of torture to the forefront of public debate.

Would you voluntarily submit to torture for any reason? College fraternities have used waterboarding in hazing rituals. Activists have submitted to waterboarding as a form of protest. Journalists have undergone waterboarding in order to provide a firsthand account of the procedure.

It’s been reported Khalid Sheikh Mohammed counted the seconds on his fingers during his waterboarding experience. While a captive in Viet Nam, John McCain was suspended by his bound arms to the point he was permanently disfigured.

As a young U.S. Air Force aviator, I experienced enhanced interrogation techniques during resistance training. Sleep deprivation, temperature extremes, and uncomfortable, stress-inducing positions were all part of the experience. While definitely uncomfortable, I never considered them to be torture. Given the choice, I would prefer temporary discomfort to permanent disfigurement.

The fact is, torture works. Even Hollywood, not known as a bastion of conservative thought, depicts torture as an effective interrogation technique in many of the movies produced there.

In 1977, President Carter authorized a change to the Code of Conduct because failure to resist the torture they endured caused POWs psychological distress. They felt they had betrayed their country and fellow prisoners.

Government officials have reason to renounce the use of torture. They don’t want enemies to know intelligence can be gained from the torture of captured combatants and they can hope disavowing the use of torture will prevent the enemy from torturing captured troops.

The torture of captives by ISIS is proof that idea has little effect on the enemies we face.

The bottom line is, enhanced interrogation techniques aren’t torture. America doesn’t condone the use of torture, even though it can be a moral imperative.

Suppose a child predator has abducted a young girl and is holding her at a remote location, chained in a tank which is slowly filling with water. The police have him in custody and he has admitted to the crime. When the police ask him where the girl is located, he laughs and spits in their faces.

If you believe it would be inappropriate to use every tool available, including torture, to get the perpetrator to reveal the location of that girl in order to save her from a terrible fate, you need to find a new moral compass because yours is broken.

Brad Stried

Gwinn