I can't stand John McCain (my former Congressman and Senator whose office I worked in and whose campaigns I worked on long ago, BTW), but I think there are some possible answers to your questions. I wasn't there, so please excuse me if this speculation is offensive in any way. I only know what I have read.
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Originally posted by paedco
For example, if he was in solitary confinement and had no contact of any kind with any fellow prisoners,as he says, how did he know the exact number of prisoners and their names held at his POW Camp?
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He could have learned this after the war. He also may not have been in solitary the entire time.
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Originally posted by paedco
If he used the code he describes to pass on names etc., and had a guard close by 24/7, how was he able to pass on names when his own name would have required 117 taps on the wall?
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I haven't read this book, but the Vietnam POW books I have read (including Nick Rowe's) indicate that prisoners did have some contact with one another. Not sure about McCain's facility, but many POW camps had bamboo cages, not solid walls.
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Originally posted by paedco
If, as he says, nobody was allowed to witness his interrogations, and he had no contact with other prisoners, who can verify that he was ever tortured?
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From what I have read, prisoners sometimes had the opportunity to see other prisoners before and after interrogations. This would enable the inference to be drawn. Also, from what I have read, torture was widely practiced by the VC and NVA.
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I do not believe it is necessary to attack McCain's war record to have big problems with him as a politician.