2008 Woodie Awards
Water Boarding
Ethical for America?
by Rebekah Scruggs
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Connections
There have been many methods of torture invented throughout history to gather information from enemies and criminals. These methods include electric shock and beating. Most of these have been ruled as inhumane and outlawed. Another such torture method is water boarding.
Water boarding has been around for centuries. According to howstuffworks.com, water boarding was a common interrogation technique of the Italian Inquisition of the 1500s. Water boarding continued to be a common torture technique into the 1970s, when it was most infamously used in Cambodian prisons during the Khmer Rouge regime. This method of interrogation is so effective, that in 2005, it made the CIA's list of approved enhanced interrogation techniques intended for use against high-value terror suspects.
Water boarding is a method involving strapping a person down to an inclined board with his feet raised and head lowered. The interrogators tie up the person's arms and legs so he or she can't move, and cover the face. In some cases, the person is gagged and some kind of cloth covers his or her nose and mouth. In other cases, the person's face is wrapped in cellophane. The interrogator repeatedly pours water over the person's face. Water may get in his mouth or nose, depending on the setup. The physical experience of being underneath a wave of water is similar to the psychological experience of drowning. The person's mind believes he or she is drowning, so his or her gag reflexes kick in as if he or she were actually choking on the water falling on his or her face.
Water boarding is an effective method of interrogation. The CIA used water boarding on al-Qaida operative and supposed 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He reportedly lasted more than two minutes before confessing. CIA members who have water boarding as part of their training have lasted an average of 14 seconds before begging to be released. The Navy SEALS used to use this technique in their counter-interrogation training, but stopped because the trainee SEALS couldn't survive it without breaking down emotionally.
Most government officials don't consider water boarding a method of torture. They think it's a poor interrogation method because it scares the prisoner so much that they can't trust him or her. Senator John McCain was tortured as a POW during the Vietnam War, and says water boarding is definitely a form of torture.
It's unclear as to whether water boarding is still used. In 2006, the Bush administration faced widespread criticism because of its refusal to sign a Congressional bill outlawing the use of torture techniques against all U.S. prisoners.
Sophomore Lacey Whitlock disagrees with the idea of water boarding.
Whitlock says,"I don't think water boarding should be used on anyone. I think it is awful and inhumane."
Water boarding has been around for centuries. According to howstuffworks.com, water boarding was a common interrogation technique of the Italian Inquisition of the 1500s. Water boarding continued to be a common torture technique into the 1970s, when it was most infamously used in Cambodian prisons during the Khmer Rouge regime. This method of interrogation is so effective, that in 2005, it made the CIA's list of approved enhanced interrogation techniques intended for use against high-value terror suspects.
Water boarding is a method involving strapping a person down to an inclined board with his feet raised and head lowered. The interrogators tie up the person's arms and legs so he or she can't move, and cover the face. In some cases, the person is gagged and some kind of cloth covers his or her nose and mouth. In other cases, the person's face is wrapped in cellophane. The interrogator repeatedly pours water over the person's face. Water may get in his mouth or nose, depending on the setup. The physical experience of being underneath a wave of water is similar to the psychological experience of drowning. The person's mind believes he or she is drowning, so his or her gag reflexes kick in as if he or she were actually choking on the water falling on his or her face.
Water boarding is an effective method of interrogation. The CIA used water boarding on al-Qaida operative and supposed 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He reportedly lasted more than two minutes before confessing. CIA members who have water boarding as part of their training have lasted an average of 14 seconds before begging to be released. The Navy SEALS used to use this technique in their counter-interrogation training, but stopped because the trainee SEALS couldn't survive it without breaking down emotionally.
Most government officials don't consider water boarding a method of torture. They think it's a poor interrogation method because it scares the prisoner so much that they can't trust him or her. Senator John McCain was tortured as a POW during the Vietnam War, and says water boarding is definitely a form of torture.
It's unclear as to whether water boarding is still used. In 2006, the Bush administration faced widespread criticism because of its refusal to sign a Congressional bill outlawing the use of torture techniques against all U.S. prisoners.
Sophomore Lacey Whitlock disagrees with the idea of water boarding.
Whitlock says,"I don't think water boarding should be used on anyone. I think it is awful and inhumane."
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