Thanks for the clarification, craner. That sounds about right.
I would still say that we're definitely supposed to be rooting for the torturers. Not necessarily when they're doing the torturing, but later in the film, the audience is supposed to be rooting for those very same people -- torturers -- to get their man. Of course, there will always be contrary bastards who are on the baddies' side in a movie -- usually the same people who tortured butterflies as children, it must be said. But to argue that Maya is not the protagonist in Zero Dark Thirty is to ignore the entire structure of movies and how they work, in which there is nearly always a protagonist to cheer for. Whether it's Bruce Willis in Die Hard or Maya the CIA agent, we're supposed to be on their side. And in ZDT, seeing as they're torturers, we're rooting for torturers.
As you explained in the plot recollections, I think the film is slightly more nuanced than the likes of John Pilger give it credit for. I think it does 'raise questions' about the moral line that's been crossed, albeit in whispers. But this is totally overpowered by the overarching narrative, which is wholly supportive of the CIA sadists. Maya is portrayed as a hero, isn't she? Flawed, but a hero nonetheless.
Now I come to think of it, Zero Dark Thirty may actually be evil, although for a reason I haven't heard voiced before. And it's this: if torture was shown to be useful -- a 'necessary evil' -- then you can argue it's the lesser evil and that's permissible. In fact, pretty much all pro-torture arguments are predicated on the stump that 'it works' in preventing greater atrocities -- the 'ticking bomb' scenario, etc. But I've never heard anyone say we should torture people even if it doesn't work.
So if torture doesn't work, as the factual accounts say it didn't*, and doesn't, and actually creates more enemies likely to bomb your cities, then to cheer for the torturers knowing that it doesn't work is just outright depraved. The movie doesn't go anywhere near an actual debate or exploration of how effective it was. There's never a moment when somebody explicitly questions what the hell they're doing, which no doubt must have happened, but Bigelow chose to leave out.
What Zero Dark Thirty does is turn us all into the sadists who rip the wings from butterflies, as we're strung along into supporting the people who do it.
*The info gleaned from torture was given up to the FBI by the same detainee before the CIA laid a finger on him.