Following World War 2, The United States hanged Japanese soliders who waterboarded prisoners of the war. Fast-forward some 70 years, and the CIA, under authorization of the Department of Justice, confirmed having waterboarded at least 3 captured members of Al-Queda. This was during President Bush' administration, which did not consider water boarding to be a form of torture. In addition, 20,000 members of the United States military were confirmed to have been waterboarded during Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape(SERE) training before being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. This was during the Presidency of George Bush, who did not view waterboarding as a means of torture, but rather, interrogation.
This changed under the Administration of President Obama, who banned the usage of Waterboarding as a means of interrogation. He cited it as being cruel and unusual torture, and not "In line with the principles that our nation was founded on." There remains strong, yet unconfirmed speculation that SERE is still using waterboarding in training, not as a form of torture. It also has been approved at some Universities across the country for experimental purposes as to its emotional and psychological effects on test subjects.
So, if you're asking yourself in any way, "What is waterboarding?", you can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding
Or, you can watch as the recently deceased and arguably the world's most renowned atheist, Chistopher Hitchens, voluntarily undergo Waterboarding himself. Hitchens did it to explore the distinction between resistance training, and infliction for torture/interrogation.
[YOUTUBE]4LPubUCJv58[/YOUTUBE]
So why am I bringing this up now, of all times? Quite simple, actually. After being contacted a month ago by my former advisor and mentor while getting my doctorate(and to vigorous protests from my wife and family), I underwent the process of being waterboarded myself on Thursday. After undergoing a doctor's evaluation to ensure I didn't have asthma, I signed the necessary paperwork that informed me of the possibility of this causing emotional or psychological harm to myself, with both short and long-term possibilities. Finally, I signed a notarized document agreeing to answering a series of questions when I was up to it, acknowledging my willingness to undergo the procedure for a second time if I refused to answer any and all questions.
Essentially, I'm part of a doctoral thesis that studies the effects of short-term torture/interrogation techniques upon one's psyche, and its viability in extracting information. When I say short term, I mean incredibly short-term, as I lasted 1 minute, 46 seconds before pressing the panic button that had been placed.
The experience is one I'll remember for a lifetime. First, I was hooded, where I was lead down a(obviously) dark hallway. I was then picked up forcefully and placed on a large wooden board, where I was immediately strapped down by both my arms and legs, immobilizing myself. I was then given a panic button to press when I wanted it to stop. I remember reading about people undergoing this while loud, obnoxious music was playing, but I avoided this, thankfully. In my case, the next thing I remember is water continuously being poured onto my face. I tried to hold my breath, but the water quickly filled my nostrils. Attempts to breathe out were met with more water filling my mouth and lungs. I was able to spit small parts of the water out, but the water came in faster then I could get it out. After what seemed like an eternity of attempting to fight, I pressed the panic button after a whopping 1 minute, 46 seconds, where I was immediately given oxygen by emergency personnel, had my blood pressure taken, and was checked on by a doctor.
A half-hour later, I was lead to a room to answer questions, both about my personal life and my therapy practice. I was hooked up to a lie detector machine, which was really unnecessary, as I would have given them my daughter for keeps in the moment if it meant not having to undergo Waterboarding again. Some of the questions were uncomfortable in nature, but I answered them readily to avoid the experience again. In a month and 3 months respectively, I'll return for follow-up with the two doctoral students who are doing their thesis on this.
So why did I do this? Well, the selfish part of me did it for the money, which was a decent sum. But I also wanted to personally explore which Administration was right: Is it Bush, who believed that it was a form of effective interrogation? Or is it Obama, who believes it to be a form of unnecessary torture? Perhaps it's both. I was willing to say or do anything if it meant not being waterboarded again, making it an effective interrogation. But the feeling of drowning were what caused that,which could effectively classify it as torture as well. I don't feel any significant mental or emotional distress as a result, but reactions like those can be delayed. My lungs do burn and I feel like I'm struggling for breath every once in awhile, but it's only been two days. Perhaps for me to fully answer this, I'll need to wait a month or three.
But i want to hear from all of you regarding this:
If you had to choose one, would you side with the Bush Administration, who consindered Waterboarding to be "effective interrogation"? Or do you side with the Obama Administration, and consider this to be "unnecessary torture"?
Are there any circumstances under which you would agree to be Waterboarded, given what you know about it?
Other thoughts on this subject matter are welcome here.
This changed under the Administration of President Obama, who banned the usage of Waterboarding as a means of interrogation. He cited it as being cruel and unusual torture, and not "In line with the principles that our nation was founded on." There remains strong, yet unconfirmed speculation that SERE is still using waterboarding in training, not as a form of torture. It also has been approved at some Universities across the country for experimental purposes as to its emotional and psychological effects on test subjects.
So, if you're asking yourself in any way, "What is waterboarding?", you can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding
Or, you can watch as the recently deceased and arguably the world's most renowned atheist, Chistopher Hitchens, voluntarily undergo Waterboarding himself. Hitchens did it to explore the distinction between resistance training, and infliction for torture/interrogation.
[YOUTUBE]4LPubUCJv58[/YOUTUBE]
So why am I bringing this up now, of all times? Quite simple, actually. After being contacted a month ago by my former advisor and mentor while getting my doctorate(and to vigorous protests from my wife and family), I underwent the process of being waterboarded myself on Thursday. After undergoing a doctor's evaluation to ensure I didn't have asthma, I signed the necessary paperwork that informed me of the possibility of this causing emotional or psychological harm to myself, with both short and long-term possibilities. Finally, I signed a notarized document agreeing to answering a series of questions when I was up to it, acknowledging my willingness to undergo the procedure for a second time if I refused to answer any and all questions.
Essentially, I'm part of a doctoral thesis that studies the effects of short-term torture/interrogation techniques upon one's psyche, and its viability in extracting information. When I say short term, I mean incredibly short-term, as I lasted 1 minute, 46 seconds before pressing the panic button that had been placed.
The experience is one I'll remember for a lifetime. First, I was hooded, where I was lead down a(obviously) dark hallway. I was then picked up forcefully and placed on a large wooden board, where I was immediately strapped down by both my arms and legs, immobilizing myself. I was then given a panic button to press when I wanted it to stop. I remember reading about people undergoing this while loud, obnoxious music was playing, but I avoided this, thankfully. In my case, the next thing I remember is water continuously being poured onto my face. I tried to hold my breath, but the water quickly filled my nostrils. Attempts to breathe out were met with more water filling my mouth and lungs. I was able to spit small parts of the water out, but the water came in faster then I could get it out. After what seemed like an eternity of attempting to fight, I pressed the panic button after a whopping 1 minute, 46 seconds, where I was immediately given oxygen by emergency personnel, had my blood pressure taken, and was checked on by a doctor.
A half-hour later, I was lead to a room to answer questions, both about my personal life and my therapy practice. I was hooked up to a lie detector machine, which was really unnecessary, as I would have given them my daughter for keeps in the moment if it meant not having to undergo Waterboarding again. Some of the questions were uncomfortable in nature, but I answered them readily to avoid the experience again. In a month and 3 months respectively, I'll return for follow-up with the two doctoral students who are doing their thesis on this.
So why did I do this? Well, the selfish part of me did it for the money, which was a decent sum. But I also wanted to personally explore which Administration was right: Is it Bush, who believed that it was a form of effective interrogation? Or is it Obama, who believes it to be a form of unnecessary torture? Perhaps it's both. I was willing to say or do anything if it meant not being waterboarded again, making it an effective interrogation. But the feeling of drowning were what caused that,which could effectively classify it as torture as well. I don't feel any significant mental or emotional distress as a result, but reactions like those can be delayed. My lungs do burn and I feel like I'm struggling for breath every once in awhile, but it's only been two days. Perhaps for me to fully answer this, I'll need to wait a month or three.
But i want to hear from all of you regarding this:
If you had to choose one, would you side with the Bush Administration, who consindered Waterboarding to be "effective interrogation"? Or do you side with the Obama Administration, and consider this to be "unnecessary torture"?
Are there any circumstances under which you would agree to be Waterboarded, given what you know about it?
Other thoughts on this subject matter are welcome here.
