I was in charge of an IPW (Interrogation of Prisoners of War) section in an Army Reserve Military Intelligence Detachment at one time. Laying hands (or any other part of the anatomy) on a prisoner was absolutely forbidden. So was anything else that caused injury physical discomfort. The methods we were taught to use, because they are proven to work, were such things as "good cop/bad cop" and "I only want you to confirm what someone else has told us." The explaination we are now getting, that the spooks got in there and convinced the soldiers that they had the authority to give them orders, sounds more and more convincing. That is far from an excuse, however.