If you hear the word torture, what do you think of immediately?
Old, medieval techniques where fingernails are pulled, hot irons and the rack are used?
victim on a medieval rack
Nasty stuff, that’s true.
What if someone told you about an experience where nothing else but water was poured on their face- and they felt it was horrible torture?
Even though it sounds harmless, this “aggressive interrogation technique” (that’s the new, official euphemism) has been frequently used by the CIA, in order to interrogate suspect terrorists during America’s “war on terror” after the 9/11 attacks.
When this became public, a great scandal as well as a highly emotional debate arose within the US concerning the question whether “Waterboarding” should be considered torture or not.
Obviously, the conservative side of the debate argued that it could not be considered torture, as, in their view, it did not cause severe pain or suffering on a physical or mental level.
This was supported by an official memo released by the Office of Legal counsel, in which they came to the conclusion that it did not qualify as torture, as well as some other legal advisors.
The Liberal point of view, on the other side, recalled the long history of waterboarding, which was more commonly known as “water torture” throughout the centuries, dating back to the Spanish inquisition.
I guess someone else invented it already...
They considered it a scandal, as this torture technique can eventually kill the interrogated suspect if extended for too long.
Also, it has commonly caused psychological damage to the victims, as they were severely troubled by panic attacks as well as nightmares due to the waterboarding sessions.
In order to settle the question once and for all, a few public personalities from both the left and the right-winged spectrum have made themselves subject to this “interrogation method”.
The most notable one is probably the case of Christopher Hitchens, a well-known polemicist and columnist for Vanity Fair, who had not made his mind up about waterboarding when trying it out.
Well, check out for yourself what he experienced:
(the music that is playing in the background is used for further disorientation of the victim)
One has to note that the average person can handle approximately 14 seconds of waterboarding, so Hitchens, even though he is turning 60 this year (and was told by his doctor to stay away from this experiment), did a little better than most.
Now, let’s have a look at a conservative, who was completely opposed to the notion that waterboarding should be considered torture.
The radio show host Erich “Mancow” Muller was very confident about lasting about 30-60 seconds, but when he tried it out, he lasted only 6 seconds- and changed his mind entirely.
Look at the footage- it’s fascinating:
What I think is most notable about the modern lie about waterboarding, is the description of it “simulating the feeling of drowning” (as Hitchens put it).
However, water torture I nothing else but controlled drowing- it does not simulate anything.
In order to keep it short, I only concerned myself for now with the question of whether it is torture, and not with the idea that even though it obviously is, the use could be justified.
Let me answer it quickly: To me, this is definitely a scandal, and the West including the US needs to start acting on their often praised “moral superiority” and the valuing of human rights- if we become like the extremist enemy we are fighting, what do we have left of our democratic, humanist identity?
Nothing.
Please comment, I would like to read about your impression (especially of the videos),
Best wishes to all of you,
Laura
PS: If you want to read Hitchens article on his experience, click here.
The whole thing is just unbelievable!! I just read an article in the “Stern” that reported on the whole toturing/waterboarding thing the US did, and especially how it was LEGALIZED by and by! Totally agree with you on that issue! Plus: as an FBI agent who is obviously opposed to these measures correctly said: “A person who is tortured will tell you anything you want to hear just to make you stop, but not what he really knows.”
I did not watch the videos and I definitely will not.
I cannot believe how anyone could claim that waterboarding is not torture.
However, whenever the topic of torture comes up it makes me think of the cases where the police has tortured suspects to get information about the whereabouts of abducted children. I am not sure what opinion is on that, and it certainly is a very tough choice. What if someone has information about an upcoming terrorist attack that could erase hundreds of lives? Do we value one person’s physical integrity higher than that?
I do not know how I would react if I could potentially save someone close to me by causing someone else to feel pain.
As long as the suspect has the necessary information I might lean towards saying ok, torturing someone who is withholding information that is putting someone else’s life in danger is tolerable. However, what if the suspect is completely innocent and does not have the information? If the police were convinced that he does have it they might torture him to death!
As I said, its a very sensitive topic and I’m really not sure what I think about it. What I can say is that I would never consider torture unless it could save an innocent life.