John Oliver on his show Last Week Tonight has another excellent report, this time discussing the Senate torture report and the gruesome details it describes of what was done and how it shows that torture does not work. Even Helen Mirren reading the report cannot hide the disgusting brutality of the practices that the US government carried out.
Mind you, this was just from the summary of the report. The government refuses to release the full report and you can be sure that it contains far worse material.
Even before the torture began in 2003, those with experience said it wouldn’t work. Those who knew about World War II (interrogating Nazis) and torturing the Vietcong said they got plenty out of Germans and nothing from the Vietnamese.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/secret-wwii-camp-interrogators-say-torture-wasnt-needed/
The US government and military engages in torture for the same reason other occupying armies throughout history (and even now) engaged in mass rape: to demonstrate unchecked power to do what they want to the populace, and that those occupied have no ability to resist, only to accept it. It’s about proving dominance and subjugating the population, not getting information.