The military handbook dictates what interrogation methods may be used.

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The top military psychologists and interrogators say that forms of torture do not yield valuable material. It is more likely the victim will agree or say anything to get the torture to stop, whether it is the truth or not. Far better is to use the tried and true methods of interrogation.

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It is true that the US military used forms of torture and even execution in the field against enemies such as the Nazis, Japanese and others. In the heat of the battle, or under the circumstances of war, that will happen with people under the stress and horrors around them. But the Geneva Convention that outlined how prisoners should be treated was set forth in 1949, after WWI and WWII.

As we move into the future, the only thing that separates us from barbarians is our capability of treating our fellow men as humans, regardless of how we feel about their own worth and intentions. A society supposedly built on law and order should follow those laws. I thought that especially the Republican Party was supposed to be the party of law and order. Apparently, that is only true when it suits them.