Torture is a tool – used INTELLIGENTLY, it can and does save lives.
German, Japanese and even Allied (!) civilians and soldiers were tortured on a significant scale by Allied military intelligence during WW 2. The difference is that allegations of abuse were usually hushed up at the source, and certainly not spread over the Internet.
Khaled Sheik Mohammed appears to have spilled the beans remarkably quickly once he was caught (probably without serious torture). It has been reported that billionaire Osama Bin Laden has an executioner in his entourage precisely to avoid being taken alive and destroying his carefully crafted image.
It is true that torture can and is used as a substitute for intelligent investigation, and that this can lead to incrimination of innocents etc.
