gratitude to NATO and...waterboarding

"Ms. Pitter said Mr. Shoroeiya first mentioned a board being used in water torture in 2009 to a Human Rights Watch researcher who spoke with him in a Libyan prison. She said she tracked him down this year hoping to learn more about his treatment in Libya. “All these guys are grateful for the intervention,” she said, referring to the NATO assistance to Libyan rebels. “But they just feel like somebody needs to acknowledge that this happened to them and that it was wrong.”"  Todd, who sent me this, rightly wonders why this line was inserted and whether it is relevant to the subject of the article?