"Of the 1,767 troops questioned by the Pentagon's mental-health advisory team last September, four in ten (41% of soldiers and 44% of marines) believed that torture should be permitted if it would save the life of a fellow soldier or marine. Almost as many (36% of soldiers and 39% of marines) said torture should be allowed to extract important information about Iraqi insurgents. Less than half (47% of soldiers and 38% of marines) felt that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect, as required by the Geneva Conventions. The number of troops who admitted mistreating Iraqi civilians was nevertheless small. Although nearly 33% acknowledged insulting or swearing at non-combatants, only around 10% admitted unnecessarily damaging or destroying property, and just 4% of soldiers (7% of marines) confessed to hitting or kicking non-combatants “when it was not necessary”. No questions were asked about more serious abuse or torture. Increasing the length of tours in Iraq was found to make soldiers more likely to mistreat people."