if it's cool now, then it was cool in WWII and further back. Torture didn't become "cool" or "acceptable" now.
In WWII, dudes were suicide bombing airplanes by the dozens. THAT is some shit worthy of torturing survivors. Looking further back, people were WAY more brutal in war hundreds of years ago... impaling people, rape/pillage, mass murder of tens of millions... a few dudes getting non-deadly waterboarding? Sheeit, 400 years ago, they'd be chopping off fingers and penises to get the intel they needed.
So IF torture is okay today because of "Unlawful" combatants, then it sure as shit was okay 400 years ago when rape/pillage/torture of entire villiages was cool. LOL @ anyone whining about Gitmo that isn't whining about the way we continent-fcked those indians living here before us.