"Believe Me, It's Torture" Response

If there are other ways to get information out of prisoners, why use waterboarding?

How could waterboarding not be considered a form of torture?

What is the greatest torture factor in waterboarding?

This article by far is my favorite.  The way the author uses his personal experiences to draw the readers in to the topic was not expected.  By the time I finished the article, I wanted more.  Anyhow, back to the questions.

Throughout the years, there have been many types of torture and punishment.  Watching old Chinese series has showed me quite a few examples of old forms of torture, ranging from slowly breaking the fingers to making the inner thighs bruise and bleed.  Times have changed and new forms of torture have been created.  Waterboarding certainly seems like a form of torture, but there are some that believe it not to be torture.  Why would they think that (question 2)?

Compared to the other forms of torture I previously brought up, waterboarding does not cause one to bruise or bleed, something the human eye can see.  However, that is all I can think of that makes waterboarding different than other forms of torture.  Waterboarding still causes mental and physical distress.  Hitchens is victim to this effect of waterboarding; whenever he seems to lack oxygen, he begins to panic since he is reminded of his waterboarding experiment.  I do not see how waterboarding would not be considered torture.  It gives the prisoner the feeling of being drowned when he/she is not even immersed in water.  After the experience, it may cause one to be scared of water since the experience is traumatizing.  Though indeed waterboarding does not cause any visible damage to the person’s body, the aftereffects it has on the person will be imprinted in the person’s mind for a long time.

What really surprised me is the fact that our own Special Forces had to undergo these terrifying conditions.  We were basically torturing our own people.  Why?  I understand it is to prepare them for what will happen to them if they are caught in action.  I also understand that these people have agreed to this training knowing what they will be going through.  Indeed they will not have any visible damage done to them in the case of waterboarding, but these experiences will haunt them, if not physically then mentally.