@isoycrazy yes, but still two problems.
1. none of that makes them want to tell you anything (and that can be a large factor in determining when they break, and if they think that they will be saved in time). they can concievably resist for some days, at least if not longer than simply negotiating with them.
2. they might not remember enough details to be of use. for here they were only asking about overarching strategy. so not as big an issue, but torture and mental/physical fatigue does not lend well to memory retrieval.
and that's setting aside any moral quandry. these guys were officers but they weren't the ones in charge (or at least it's questionable how much they may or may not have objected to the plan). it might be reasonable to cut them some slack here. and making the child witch heal them only to see them tortured again is not ideal either (from a guardian/parenting standpoint).
I wasn't arguing that it couldn't be done. I was trying to say that for a variety of reasons it wasn't the best strategy