Torture was not a factor in tracking down Osama bin Laden, former US presidential candidate John McCain has said.
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committees told the Senate that waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques are not necessary to the US success in battling terrorism.
He said former Attorney General Michael Mukasey was wrong when he claimed harsh interrogation had led to bin Laden.
McCain said he got the facts from CIA director Leon Panetta and they contradicted Mukasey’s claim.
McCain was a prisoner of war for five and a half years in North Vietnam. He said the US should not compromise its deepest values by using torture tactics.