What proof do you have that they effectively saved lives? If they didn't use that technique, do the "bad guys" would have really put their plan to execution and succeed at it? Was torture the only alternative or was it the simplier to use?

>In this case, we have specific actionable information which was used to disrupt specific homicidal plots and saved lives. The information was obtained by using questionable techniques of varying degrees of intensity, up to and including waterboarding, which many regard as "torture". The adage to which I refer is that "torture does not work." We now have strong evidence that these techniques worked, in that they provided the aforementioned information which saved lives. To me this suggests that the adage is false, which is why I posed the question.