One of the constants of the John McCain legend is that he suffered brutal torture at the hands of his captors. Various reports over the past few years suggest that mcCain suffered most of his injuries in his near-fatal plane crash that led to his capture. The Guardian has an interesting article up today that includes an interview with the chief prison guard where McCain was held:

"In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Nguyen Tien Tran acknowledged that conditions in the prison were "tough, though not inhuman". But, he added: "We never tortured McCain. On the contrary, we saved his life, curing him with extremely valuable medicines that at times were not available to our own wounded.""

"Tran, now 75, said McCain reached Hanoi with the worst injuries he had seen in a downed pilot. But he denied torturing him, saying it was his mission to ensure that McCain survived. As the son of the US naval commander in Vietnam, he offered a potential valuable propaganda weapon."

"Tran told Corriere that McCain was sent to hospital the day after he was brought to Hanoi and stayed there for a month. "I never lost him from sight. I was frightened a doctor or nurse might do him harm.""

"Tran dismissed as "absolutely impossible" perhaps the most famous story from McCain's autobiography: that one Christmas, a guard traced a cross in the mud in front of him. "My men were all communists and atheists," he said."

So who are we to trust?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/14/uselections2008-johnmccain