No defense

Re “Torture is torture,” letters, April 21

Reading a letter from a former naval intelligence officer who experienced torture techniques as part of his training, I was confronted again with the pathology of the defenders of torture and my own experience as a victim of torture in Chile.

Imagine, is it truly the same to experience a torture drill among fellow soldiers, a simulation carried out by your peers, as to suffer real torture by agents who hate you and want to hurt you or even kill you?

Thousands of my fellow Chileans were tortured to death. Luckily, I survived -- though with, of course, physical and psychological repercussions. The letter writer never feared for his life. It was just a drill.

Cosme Noriega

Costa Mesa