If it saves lives, I’m all for it—but be aware that liberals will cry ‘torture!’ and put it right up there with that horror of all horrors waterboarding!!!! ::rolls eyeballs::
In the case of General Pershing, he ordered a pit dug, several to-be-executed Moro pirates to be brought up, half of them to be shot and thrown in the pit, and a bunch of dead pigs to be thrown in as well before burial.
Then he ordered the other half to be released, to tell all their friends what they had witnessed. The Moros discontinued the Insurrection almost as soon as they got the message.
The important concept here is that when dealing with religious fanatics, you can’t pretend they are just ordinary criminals or national soldiers. You need to hit them where they live, religiously.