Torture is a relatively poor method of intelligence collection, and a remarkably effective tool of coercion. The number of times it has been necessary or even particularly useful for the first purpose are vanishingly few. By contrast, the number of times it has been a key tool for oppression, even in otherwise civilized countries, are legion. Hypothesizing about "ticking bombs" is futile; if you really are the guy who *knows* that you have *the* terrorist who knows about an *imminent* plot to blow up a city, and you are *certain* that all other methods will fail, then by all means, go ahead and break the rules. You will be forgiven. But historically, that situation has come up exactly never. What are necessary are rules to govern realistic cases, and in that context, torture is cruel, unnecessary and relatively ineffective. A blanket ban is the right choice.
-Jester
-Jester