No beachlover, I’m not disturbed by it. Evidently these techniques were used on only 3 of the top guys we captured after 9/11. If you think about someone like Khalid Sheik Mohammed, he was someone who definitely did have a lot of information we NEEDED. Whether it’s ticking bomb scenario or something where “only” ten thousand or so people die, yeah I’m ok with a little water up the nose. In fact, I think it is our government’s JOB to do that.
I agree with Michael Hayden who today said it’s not really a good idea to let our adversaries know all the details of what we “might” do.
To CONCHO’s comment: I did read the Hitchens article, and here are my thoughts:
* If a journalist (presumably a non-tough guy) ASKS for something to be done to him a SECOND time, after just experiencing it, can it really be called torture?
* If we do it to our own soldiers in training, are we then “torturing” our own troops? Funny how we don’t hear about them suing or anything.
* When I was young, my mom used to take me to an Ear Nose & Throat doctor at a fancy place in La Jolla. He used to lean me way back backwards in the chair, and pour vast quantities of water (or something) down my nostrils. It was barbaric. It was very painful. I wanted it to stop the moment it started. I dreaded it on subsequent visits. I don’t think it ever did any good. Was I waterboarded in front of my own mom?
Here’s my take: If you call pouring water down someone’s nose “torture”, or you call making someone wear women’s underwear “torture”, then what would you call say cutting off a finger? I’m quite sure Hitchens wouldn’t have requested THAT be done to him again.
Seems to me if you’re going to call waterboarding torture then you have disenfranchised the term so much that you would need a new word for REAL torture.
