The claim that "torture simply does not work," is the most easily refutable bit of nonsense ever proposed by the political Left. Torture does not work against some people. Against others, it elicits volumes of good information. The key is that you have to figure out whether the captive in question KNOWS the information you are seeking. If they don't, they will spin all sorts of yarns which are worse than no information at all.
The Left is also responsible for navigating the United Fucking States into an inescapable corner from which we cannot exit. The "corner" is created by the bizarre requirement that POW's held at GITMO be "convicted" in a "criminal" trial, giving such POW's the benefit of United States domestic "constitutional rights."
This is preposterous.
Most of the information that led to the capturing of these folks was obtained through tactics that would NEVER be acceptable for domestic police work in the United States. You are talking about wiretaps, bribes, tortured interrogation, and mountains of heresay.
Fifteen minutes after the commencement of any "trial," all of the incriminating evidence will be tossed out, resulting in an immediate acquittal. So we delay the trials indefinitely. This the "corner" mentioned above.
These people ARE NOT CRIMINALS! They are ENEMY COMBATANTS and POW's. You do not put such people on trial. They are held until the cessation of hostilities, or they are executed. They are not held because of what they have done, they are held because of what they are! Guantanamo Bay is a terrible practical joke we are playing on ourselves, apparently forever.