Evangelicals for torture, y'all

"Military simulation cannot be compared to the real thing; a person undergoing it knows it's simulation"
You know that do you? I could tell you of many stories where the person that was being "tortured" thought to themselves, "I'm a U.S. citizen! They can't be about to do that! Can they!" They of course did not, but that's the name of the game, to make them think that we are going to do more than we can legally do. You are now arguing that though the acts are EXACTLY the same that the pychological effect is simply different and this constitutes torture.
"will the info be reliable or a word given under duress simply to stop the duress?"
I've already covered this.
"there was little evidence that the person being tortured had done anything; somebody simply had a suspicion, and the power to do something about it."
Again, you miss the point. They are not criminals. It is not a questoin of whether they had "done" anything. Everyone, EVERYONE, that is in Gitmo was picked up on a BATTLEFIELD not shoplifting at Walmart. The purpose of "torture" isn't punishment it is to get info that will stop their friends from killing Americans and our allies.
"Power corrupts; ABSOLUTE power corrupts ABSOLUTELY"
Yeah, too bad we are no where near using the power that we have. Our policy in fighting this War on Terror has been marked by, if anything, our absolute, utter, insane, and self-destructive restraint. If we were excercizing the extent of our power (which I would argue would be ultimately the more Just, moral, and humane thing to do) we would have annihilated the entire region. Instead, we beat ourselves up concerning tiny incidents that would amount to a frat hazing (Abu Ghraib) and wonder if we have given the terrorists, who would see us dead, enough rights. As Abraham Lincoln said, "“What would you do in my position? Would you drop the war where it is? Or would you prosecute it in future with elder-stalk squirts charged with rosewater? Would you deal lighter blows rather than heavier ones? Would you give up the contest, leaving any available means unapplied? I am in no boastful mood. I shall not do more than I can, but shall do all I can to save the Government, which is my sworn duty, as well as my personal inclination. I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing.” Extending the war in an effort to be "nice" ends up making it more brutal. Sherman said it this way, "War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it, the crueler it is the sooner it will be over."
"If you were him..."
Hahahahahahahahaha!
"We can also forgive those would see us dead, on the same basis."
We forgive others because Christ first forgave us. It is by His Spirit that we forgive. Never-the-less, I refer back to Lincoln, "I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing."

"Wow. Lord have mercy."

Good argument. Did you even read the rest. You'd rather people suffer in a long drawn out occupation where people on both sides die, and then withdraw with the war incomplete. This sends a message to our enemies around the world. We haven't successfully completed a War since WWII. In Korea we had some success, but we withdrew in defeat without the will to do what it took. This invited the North Vietnamese to take the South with aid from Communist China and the Soviets. Though we won every major battle in that war we withdrew in defeat. We suffered 58,000 dead for nothing, but more than that, we killed 1.8 million North Vietnamese! We have still not shaken off the effects of that war. In Iraq we didn't finish the job despite overwhelming success. In Mogadishu we withdrew in defeat after the "Blackhawk down" situation. Osama Bin Laden says this was the moment that he knew he could attack us with impunity.
I could go on and on. Bottom line is if you suffer tamely a lawless attack on your soil, people, allies, or ideals you INVITE it. More importantly, you condemn others, including generations yet unborn, to your folly. Let me include some quotes for you:
"”No state can either be happy or secure that is remiss and negligent in the discipline of its troops. For it is not profusion of riches or excess of luxury that can influence our enemies to court or respect us. This can only be affected by the terror of our arms."
-Vegetius
"He, therefore, who desires peace, should prepare for war...No one dares to offend or insult a power of known superiority in action.”
-Vegetius
“Peace is best secured by those who use their strength justly, but whose attitude shows that they have no intentions of submitting to wrong.”
-Thucydides
“If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.”
-George Washington
Since the end of WWII we have made it plain that we are not at all times ready for war. Additionally, we have made it very clear that all you have to do, as our enemy, is to kill a few Americans and we'll give up and go home. If the U.S. had remained vigilant after WWII we would have had fewer wars and fewer deaths on both sides.