History of Waterboarding
Waterboarding
Torture has long been used by law enforcement agencies and governments to questions criminals and terrorists. It is used to coax confessions or to find out any sort of information that may lead to the arrest or capture of other criminals. Although the torturing of prisoners in the United States is strictly prohibited by the constitution, the government started using the tactic waterboarding against terrorists. Although the government says waterboarding has led to prevention on mass terrorist attacks on U.S soil, it is not accepted by all of this country’s citizens. It is believed by certain people that waterboarding is torture and others do not believe it is. It is my goal to explore why the United States deemed this technique necessary and why people argue that it is unconstitutional. Waterboarding is a process in which “The head is tilted back and water is poured into the upturned mouth or nose” (Bianchet). This causes the victim to have the sensation of drowning and leaves them gasping for air as their lungs fill up with water. This is done in small increments at time, usually over a two to four hour period. While this is the general idea of waterboarding, it is and can be conducted in many different manners. The most popular method involves strapping the prisoner to an inclined board while shackling his hands and feet down to the board. The prisoner’s feet are then inclined slightly above their head and cellophane or a cloth is put over the prisoners nose and mouth. If the cloth method is being used, water is slowly dripped on the cloth to soak it in water until both the mouth and nose are completely covered in water. If cellophane is being used, water is poured over the prisoners head. During this, “the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt” (Esposito, Ross, 2005). While this does not usually cause death, many of the side effects are “extreme pain,
Torture has long been used by law enforcement agencies and governments to questions criminals and terrorists. It is used to coax confessions or to find out any sort of information that may lead to the arrest or capture of other criminals. Although the torturing of prisoners in the United States is strictly prohibited by the constitution, the government started using the tactic waterboarding against terrorists. Although the government says waterboarding has led to prevention on mass terrorist attacks on U.S soil, it is not accepted by all of this country’s citizens. It is believed by certain people that waterboarding is torture and others do not believe it is. It is my goal to explore why the United States deemed this technique necessary and why people argue that it is unconstitutional. Waterboarding is a process in which “The head is tilted back and water is poured into the upturned mouth or nose” (Bianchet). This causes the victim to have the sensation of drowning and leaves them gasping for air as their lungs fill up with water. This is done in small increments at time, usually over a two to four hour period. While this is the general idea of waterboarding, it is and can be conducted in many different manners. The most popular method involves strapping the prisoner to an inclined board while shackling his hands and feet down to the board. The prisoner’s feet are then inclined slightly above their head and cellophane or a cloth is put over the prisoners nose and mouth. If the cloth method is being used, water is slowly dripped on the cloth to soak it in water until both the mouth and nose are completely covered in water. If cellophane is being used, water is poured over the prisoners head. During this, “the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt” (Esposito, Ross, 2005). While this does not usually cause death, many of the side effects are “extreme pain,
References: Bianchet, E. What Waterboarding Is. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from http://waterboarding.org/info Esposito, R, Ross, B. (2005, November 18). CIA’s Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described. Retrieved September 13, 2009, from http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Investigation/story?id=1322866 Hitchens, C. (2008, August). Believe Me, It’s Torture. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/hitchens200808?currentPage=1 Kelm, B. (2009, September 21). Waterboarding Doesn’t Work, Scientists Say. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/badintelligence/ Poll Results:Waterboarding is Torture (2007, November 6). Retrieved September 21, from http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/06/waterboard.poll/index.html Ross, B. (2007, November 2). Exclusive: Only Three Have Been Waterboarded by CIA. Retrieved September 24, 2009 from http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/exclusive-only-.html Waterboarding. (2009, September 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Waterboarding&oldid=316634084 Weiner, E. (2007, November 3). Waterboarding: A Tortured History. Retreived September 21, 2009, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15886834