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By sheer happenstance, very recently, I heard a former Vietnam POW, Captain Mel Moore speak (he's not the same POW I've mentioned before). He opposed torture, his reasoning being:
1. It makes us no better than them
2. It makes prisoners even more unwilling to give us any useful information. He definitely considered waterboarding to be torture. (He was subjected to their rope trick three times in his first five days, I think. It didn't make him particularly anxious to help his captors.)
3. We would get more information from terrorists by treating them more humanely.
What made things more interesting was a couple of SEALS I talked to there, who heard him but were of different opinions. Not only did they think torture was appropriate in some situations, but they said "Shit, we waterboard our OWN guys, to get them used to it."
Torture was not an unfamiliar subject to these SEALS. Other ways they were well aware of: Torture a buddy of a guy whom you'd like to talk. In view of the guy who potentially has info. At least for Americans, that can be more effective than torturing the actual potential informant.
Another nasty one: Have a female interrogate a naked male prisoner. That one makes my skin crawl. Not exactly sure why. But our SEALS occasionally do it to their trainees.
Anyway, the phrase they used was that they respected Captain Moore's opinions and his service, but they didn't agree with him.
And no, I can't give you a link.
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"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Margaret Thatcher
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