That the CIA has been involved in the training of torturers in the Palestinian security forces should come as no surprise (Special Report Guardian 18 Dec). The CIA has a long history of training foreign security forces in torture techniques even though they were forbidden in the US itself (until Bush and Cheney decided it was time to remove the ‘pansy’ kid gloves). The CIA helped train the Shah’s notorious SAVAK secret police, the Pakistani secret services and a whole list of para-military forces in Central America, among others. During its war against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, its infamous training manual, demonstrating the use of torture techniques, became public and caused widespread outrage. If Obama wishes to retain any humanitarian credibility, he should clean up the CIA and outlaw all torture techniques and their export.