KIEFER SUTHERLAND - US ARMY INVITES SUTHERLAND TO GIVE ANTI-TORTURE SPEECH

LATEST: 24 star KIEFER SUTHERLAND has accepted an invitation from the US military to teach army cadets it is wrong to torture prisoners. Sutherland, who plays agent JACK BAUER in the show, has agreed to talk to cadets at the West Point military academy in New York state after army chiefs claimed the show's torture scenes are influencing its newest recruits. Earlier this month (FEB07), Brigadier General PATRICK FINNEGAN visited the set of 24 to urge its makers to cut down on torture scenes. He told the show's producers, "I'd like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires. The kids see it and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24?' "The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do."