One would think the ancient witchcraft trials of the past should have been sufficient to show that people will eventually say whatever they think the torturer wants to hear, but it never sinks in. I've since come to the conclusion that some people simply relish the act of torture, but the aren't willing to be thought of as the sort of people who enjoy torture. So they make up rationalizations. They assume that it does good, that is, torture is better than not. It also certainly appears that a fair number of people simply want to torture because they want to get pay-back from the bad guys, who we otherwise seem powerless to stop. So it becomes a short-term frustration release valve more than anything sort of effective intelligence gathering.
Anyway, with what is left of our moral authority shot, I guess it's time to turn to the immortal wisdom of Pogo again.
