| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
12 Nov 2007 07:40:15 AM |
| Object: |
Waterboarding Must Be An Old Bush Family Tradition. |
Gosh, this "is waterboarding torture?" argument is confusing, isn't
it?
In order to find out whether waterboarding is torture or not, I went
over to howstuffworks.com where they describe the procedure like this:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/water-boarding.htm
Water boarding has been around for centuries.
It was a common interrogation technique during the Italian Inquisition
of the 1500s and was used perhaps most famously in Cambodian prisons
during the reign of the Khmer Rouge regime during the 1970s.
(snip)
In a nutshell, water boarding makes a person feel like he is drowning.
Water boarding as it is currently described involves strapping a
person to an inclined board, with his feet raised and his head
lowered.
The interrogators bind the person's arms and legs so he can't move at
all, and they cover his face.
In some descriptions, the person is gagged, and some sort of cloth
covers his nose and mouth; in others, his face is wrapped in
cellophane.
The interrogator then repeatedly pours water onto the person's face.
Depending on the exact setup, the water may or may not actually get
into the person's mouth and nose;
but the physical experience of being underneath a wave of water seems
to be secondary to the psychological experience.
The person's mind believes he is drowning, and his gag reflex kicks in
as if he were choking on all that water falling on his face.
Well that certainly sounds like torture.
Fortunately, back in 2004 Daniel Levin - who was then acting assistant
attorney general - decided to visit a military base near Washington DC
and undergo the procedure himself, so he could find out for sure.
The verdict?
According to ABC News:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/DOJ/story?id=3814076&page=1
After the experience, Levin told White House officials that even
though he knew he wouldn't die, he found the experience terrifying and
thought that it clearly simulated drowning.
Levin, who refused to comment for this story, concluded waterboarding
could be illegal torture unless performed in a highly limited way and
with close supervision.
And, sources told ABC News, he believed the Bush Administration had
failed to offer clear guidelines for its use.
So what happened to Levin?
I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that...
Levin never finished a second memo imposing tighter controls on the
specific interrogation techniques.
Sources said he was forced out of the Justice Department when
(Alberto) Gonzales became attorney general.
Go figure.
By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Harry
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| User: "Sanders Kaufman" |
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| Title: Re: Waterboarding Must Be An Old Bush Family Tradition. |
12 Nov 2007 01:50:11 PM |
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"Harry Hope" <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:utlgj39e3q3cojcn6nsnou39rp1vjs4dlh@4ax.com...
In a nutshell, water boarding makes a person feel like he is drowning.
Yeah - much the way that stabbing someone makes them "feel like" they're
bleeding.
Water boarding as it is currently described involves strapping a
person to an inclined board, with his feet raised and his head
lowered.
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Waterboarding Must Be An Old Bush Family Tradition. |
12 Nov 2007 03:19:57 PM |
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On Nov 12, 2:50?pm, "Sanders Kaufman" <bu...@kaufman.net> wrote:
"Harry Hope" <riv...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:utlgj39e3q3cojcn6nsnou39rp1vjs4dlh@4ax.com...
In a nutshell, water boarding makes a person feel like he is drowning.
Yeah - much the way that stabbing someone makes them "feel like" they're
bleeding.
I would like to see Rudy Giuliani, who condons the technique, submit
to a demonstration so I can decide for myself if it is torture.
I would place a heavy-duty plastic bag over Rudy's head and have Judi
***** and ***** all over him! Just like she did the other night!
Water boarding as it is currently described involves strapping a
person to an inclined board, with his feet raised and his head
lowered.
.
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