G.O.T. I agree with all your points, and can relate personally to your statement,
One sad fact of life is that wars tend to lead people to do terrible things no matter how noble or principled their leaders are. Those of us who have been there know how easy it is to let loose those inner devils, and give a one of the locals a good kicking when a friend has been injured or killed. It is not to be condoned of course, but it does happen. Further to the torture definition;
any condition or procedure that cause's another to suffer from pain or the fear of pain?
Opinions are a bit like the weather, they change, so do not worry too much about it, you still have a lot of friends in the world.