I think that a good definition of torture could be found in the record of the Hanoi Hilton...
And until we are willing to get in touch with our inner ba$tard, we will not be able to throw off the gloves, pull their shirts over the backs of their heads, and starting sending in uppercuts.
And we will continue to self-flagellate our national pysche until something REALLY big happens to us...
The ONLY thing these vermin understand and respect is the extensive and overwhelming use of force. As the Romans used to say:
"Odierunt, dum timerunt" (maybe a tad rusty on the lingua latina, but pretty close...)
(Let them hate us, so long as they fear us)
Worse, they are actually proud of doing it, patting each other on the back, self affirmation, self esteem, and tolerance are virtues now.