American Torture from the Philippines to Iraq

What explains the United States' persistent use of torture over the past hundred-plus years? Not only is torture incompatible with liberal values, it is also risky and frequently ineffective as an interrogation method. Drawing on archival testimony from the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), the Vietnam War, and the post-2001 war on terror, William L. d'Ambruoso argues that the norm against torture includes features that help explain why liberal democracies like
the United States continue to violate it.