You take a guy and put him on rice and water for a month in isolation. Then you take him out and place him five feet from a table with steak, turkey, strawberries, vegetables, mashed potatoes, or some other quisine more in tune to his national norms. If he won't open up, but him back in isolation.
I think there are ways to motivate without physically or mentally imparing a person long term.
One, you are motivating a terrorist, not a person. These guys forfeited humanity, when they undertook the targeting of civilians.
Two, there is a time component involved in saving innocent life from possible terrorist acts.
You take a guy and put him on rice and water for a month in isolation.
And the members of his cell you didnt catch and don't know about have four weeks to kill some more innocents....
that is neither Civilized, nor intelligent.
To treat of torture like it is some unmitigated evil, is to put yourself at the mercy of those that would kill you.