Much of the time torture isn't so much about extracting information as about grinding down prisoners so that they become totally malleable, and will say or do whatever is convenient to the captors.

Teribus's summary of John McCain's experience "subjected to "Torture" over an extended period, the purpose of that treatment was not to extract military secrets or information but to physically break him and get him to toe the Party line" is very reminiscent indeed of much that has come out about the way prisoners of the US and UK have been treated in recent years.

And of course there is also a recreational aspect to it, as exemplified in the Abu Ghraib events which were so inconveniently leaked into the public domain. But that won't happen again in a hurry. The leaking, I mean.