To the academic mind, authority is everything and facts are junked when they do not fit theory laid down by authority. - Robert Heinlein................
A friend, a fighter pilot during VN, wrote a book about his personal experiences called No Lilies or Violets. One of the anecdotes in the book was about the training everyone had to take in the event of capture, which included torture at the hands of the ‘captors’. They had to keep rotating these ‘captors’ out every couple of weeks because they’d get carried away with the part they played. His comment was that it’s something those who control prisons (Abu Ghraib in particular) ought to understand about human nature.
Human beings generally do not show the best side of themselves when in situations of absolute power over others.