24's Torture Methods Criticized by Military

Generals Are Worried that the Scenes Are Demoralizing Troops

Military officials have confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan visited the set of the FOX show, 24, to voice concerns over the depiction of torture in the hit series. More specifically, the military is criticizing the use of torture, which is illegal, to gather information from captives, claiming that no good information comes from torture, and more importantly, that the torture is having detrimental effects on young troops.

According to both the Center for American Progress and IMDB, General Finnegan met with 24 producers to express concerns over the series' depiction of harsh torture methods and what effects those depictions are having on young troops. Also, torture is illegal, and the use of torture is denounced in the military, and it should not be portrayed as an effective method of interrogating prisoners. The Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Lt. General John Kimmons told the Center for American Progress that torture is extremely ineffective, and added that he is "absolutely convinced...no good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices. I think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the last five years, hard years, tell us that."

The main character of 24, Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, often has to employ harsh tactics to gather intelligence from other characters, and in the case of this season, as well as past seasons, the other characters are often Muslim terrorists. The torture has included beatings, stabbings, threats, as well as chemical means of extracting information. In an interview, Sutherland conceded that information garnered from torture is often suspect. He said, "You torture someone and they'll basically tell you exactly what you want to hear, whether its true or not, if you put someone in enough pain."