The reasoning by taking them alive is twofold. One, is that shooting them looks bad. Two, is that we want to interrogate them.
Not much we can do about the first one. The firing squad is justice, but it's grim, and it'd just be a matter of time before someone would videotape one and put it on the internet. Our fear of bad PR runs deep.
The second one is a little more complex. We don't get much out of most interrogations of mid to low level guys, aside from things that they think we already know. Sometimes we already do, but sometimes we don't, and there are occasional gems that come out of talking to them. Mostly, though, they know to deny everything, because all we're going to do is get frustrated and stop asking.
As far as KSM, Abu Zubaydah, and the other big fish, they had to face a far harsher line of questioning. They were made to speak, and speak at length. If that technique is going away, then there's really no advantage for us to take non-uniformed prisoners.
I very much appreciate that information. Thanks.
So..let's go back to trying to catch the big bad guys alive- and as to the rest...ppfftt..take no prisoners. Kill em on the spot.