Torture is bad, everywhere.

In Torture, Plain and Simple, Suzanne points out that while it is true that torture doesn't work, it doesn't matter: it's illegal.  But let's dwell for a minute on the first point: torture doesn't work.

Elaine Scarry gave this subject a scholar's attention in The Body in Pain, where she explained that pain nullifies the world around us -- with extreme pain nothing exists but the pain.  This deconstructs the ego to a point where conversation is meaningless and information extracted in this state has one goal: to make the pain stop.  Say anything to make the pain stop.  In fact, there is a long history of torture being used to extract misinformation to support campaigns of misinformation.

While this simple fact is well established in research, it seems appallingly under communicated.  If it was well communicated, I imagine it would lead to this:

Interrogator 1: Should we do it?

Interrogator 2: Well, it doesn't work.

Interrogator 1: OK then, let's not bother.

The complex ethics simply disappear.