I vaguely recall a Gitmo officer being interviewed a couple of years ago about interrogation tactics. Bear with me because my memory of it is foggy...
He stated the interrogation tactics that they use to retrieve information takes months, if not, years. This is one reason why they needed to be detained for a lengthy period of time. Most of the tactics were obviously classified. However, he did disclose some psycological methods.
He stated something to the effect that they stripped them of all items sans essentials. He would bring them into rooms to carry out simple questions. No yelling. Not derogatory remarks. Only simple questions. If no positive information is disclosed, back to their cells. They would wake them every hour to ask similar questions. Once they broke silence, he'd grant small amenities as they give up relevant, useable information. Obviously, is doesn't work most of the time, but he claimed that they can figure out rather quickly which ones are likely to break. I think long periods of solitude and no amenities can work on occasion. However, the hard core needs different tactics....
I see a term here used with a very, very broad brush....torture.
To me, there's a major difference between torture and coercive interrogation. This, alone, IMHO needs to be addressed on what's what. Otherwise, we all may not be on the same frequency here.
My take on the difference between the two is basic. It won't divide everything in black and white, but will separate several. Besides, even with a line drawn, there's always gray. Again, my opinion here:
Torture: An act that would case direct permanent physical bodily harm. Example is taking a baseball bat and crushing knees.
Coercive interrogation: An act that would cause discomfort in any degree up to the point of injury. Waterboarding seems to be the hot topic here. I'll use it. Yes, I'm sure one in a million people will have adverse effects of this tactic, but I don't see the immediate permanent physical damage it will do to a person. Will it irritate tissues and membranes? Yes. Will it take a psychological toll on the individual? Yes, and I hope it does. It's the whole point of the matter.
Am I for torture? Not at this time. Will I ever change my mind? Well, yes, if it's my wife's life on the line....
Am I for coercive interrogation? You're damn right I am. My take is that 99.9% of people that are suspects of acts of terrorism are in some way connected. I'm not convinced that we have very many "I was walking down the street, minding my own business" lads in Gitmo. Even if there were innocents, the ratio to guilty parties far outweigh the innocent. That's just part of war. It's ugly as hell. Innocent people are caught in the crossfire. Innocent people are caught in the middle if nothing was ever done also. So, it's a moot point to me...
Just my rambling thoughts...