Do I post a serious reply...
The strength in what Obama is doing is that he is showing he is willing to protect those who were merely following orders - I would like to see prosecutions brought against those who provided the advice and go-ahead to the people carrying out the acts. Going after the generals and not the soldiers - it will win him a lot of support with the common man, I would have thought.
In regards to torture, until you have been subject to it you cannot say how it would affect you. Some of the strongest, toughest people crack quite quickly when subjected to mild torture, others who perhaps would be considered weak, can prove surprisingly resistant.
Eventually torture will crack all people - just depends on whether you get any useful, true, information from them before they crack and start telling you anything they think you want to hear.