No, it does matter a great deal, because how you answer that question will determine whether or not we will be effective in getting good intel out of these scum or not.
The problem is that the press is equating solitary confinement with feeding people into shredders.
If you look at what the "human rights" lawyers claim is legal, our troops would have to read these guys there rights and arrange an attorney for them, which is simply lunacy.
The President needs to step up to the plate and state clearly what was approved and what was not, and make it clear that what went on at Abu Ghraib was not approved by anyone, while leaving the door open for coercive techniques to be used when appropriate.
That's a tough policy to enunciate, but it's the correct one. It's also an open question as to whether or not it can be made loud enough to be heard above the gibbering chorus of left-o-babble bleating about "torture".