As a tool in the hands of a trained, detached interrogator, torture works on over 99% of subjects. People who say otherwise are either referring to torture by brutal thugs who don't know what they're doing, or they're simply lying.
The only real considerations about torture are the moral aspects, and the fact that you need trained personnel to do it, which is another moral issue. Do you torture, ever? If so, you need people who know how to do it right. But then again, what kind of society keeps trained torturers on call? These aren't insignificant issues, and it's the reason we have traditionally outlawed the practice, effective as it may be.
A society that is under threat from and has troops engaged in war with a determined enemy, that's what kind.