Nothing new under the sun

I'm currently reading A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962, a history of the Algerian War and the brutal counterinsurgency campaign prosecuted by the French against their Algerian FLN adversaries, who were not above resorting to terrorism themselves. In March 1955, a French analysis of the situation recommended the legalization of torture:

The water and electricity methods, provided they are carefully used, are said to produce a shock which is more psychological than physical and therefore do not constitute excessive cruelty. . . . According to certain medical opinion which I was given, the water-pipe method, if used as outlined above, involves no risk to the health of the victim. . . . I am inclined to think that these procedures can be accepted and that, if used in the controlled manner described to me, they are no more brutal than deprivation of food, drink, and tobacco, which has always been accepted. . . .

Eerily familiar. For those espousing the use of torture to resolve our current American situation, I think it is instructive to remember that while torture did result in certain medium-term tactical gains, in the final analysis, the French ended up withdrawing from Algeria.