Want to know if waterboarding is torture? Ask Christopher Hitchens

[kskiska]

Late last year, the writer, polemicist and fierce proponent of the US-led invasion of Iraq Christopher Hitchens attempted, in a piece for the online magazine Slate, to draw a distinction between what he called techniques of "extreme interrogation" and "outright torture".

(snip)

Enraged by what they saw as an exercise in elegant but offensive sophistry, some of the writer's critics suggested that Hitchens give waterboarding (which may sound like some kind of fun aquatic pastime, but is probably best summarised as enforced partial drowning) a whirl, just to see what it was like. Did the experience feel like torture?

(snip)

So what did it feel like? Hitchens recounts how he was lashed tightly to a sloping board, then, "on top of the hood, three layers of enveloping towel were added. In this pregnant darkness, head downward, I waited until I abruptly felt a slow cascade of water going up my nose ... I held my breath for a while and then had to exhale and - as you might expect - inhale in turn."

That, he says, "brought the damp cloths tight against my nostrils, as if a huge, wet paw had been suddenly and annihilatingly clamped over my face. Unable to determine whether I was breathing in or out, flooded more with sheer panic than with water, I triggered the pre-arranged signal" and felt the "unbelievable relief" of being pulled upright.

The "official lie" about waterboarding, Hitchens says, is that it "simulates the feeling of drowning". In fact, "you are drowning - or rather, being drowned".

more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/02/humanrights.usa

[rpannier]

1. The journey of 1000 miles begins with one step

You're on the right road hitchie.

Keep walking toward the light -- You may be amazed

[Schema Thing]

2. oh if only it had gone wrong and he could have just saved all the steps

I hear the light comes to you, at the end ;)

[TomInTib]

3. Heck, you could just ask me....

I tried it in the bathtub with only Crazy ex-Girlfriend attendance.

It was horrible.

And I thought that I was well-set for it.

[Orrex]

4. Was she your crazy ex at the time?

If so, that's an odd choice of rescuer... :shrug:

[TomInTib]

5. No, but in retrospect...

I am surprised that she didn't let me drown/go crazy.

She is brilliant crazy.

Too much fun...

Too much risk....

[TomInTib]

8. No, just crazy.

The "ex" part came later (much, much, too late).

I gave her the house, the car, AND the dog (a Golden Retriever - I was as tired of all that hair as I was of Crazy).

[DesertFlower]

6. just the thought of it freaks me out.

i'd probably die of a heart attack if it were done to me.

[Skittles]

7. kudos to Mr. Hitchens

:thumbsup: