Waterboarding = Torture?

Did you follow the controversy over the appointment of the new United States Attorney General Michael Mukasey?

This judge, now Attorney General of the U.S., refused to say whether he believed waterboarding is torture.

Now, I’ve never been waterboarded, and no doubt there are a few people in Woodstock who think I ought to be. But, is there any doubt in anyone’s mind, except for Mukasey and some in the White House, that waterboarding is, in fact, torture?

Mukasey skated around the issue of torture by claiming torture has to involve fear.

OK, let’s say you are strapped down on a plank. Let’s say the plank is level, maybe even tilted a little so your feet are above your head. You can’t move. You are restrained fully. You cannot move your arms, legs or body. A rag is placed in your mouth and a towel is placed over your face. Now water is poured into the towel and rag.

Where do you think this water goes? Right. Into your mouth. Into your nose. Can you breathe?

Someone asked me this past week if it involved drip-drip-drip; you know, the Chinese water-torture method? No, I don’t think so. How about by the pitcher or from a running hose?

The idea is to cause you to think you are drowning. Well, in fact, you are drowning. Would you be in fear? Of what? Drowning? Dying? You bet!

What if you didn’t know that the perps (oh, I mean, the interrogators) would stop before you did drown? Drown, as in die? Would you fear for your life?

What if they were trying to extract information from you? What if they think you know what they want to find out? And they are going to keep up with the torture until you tell them the “right” answers? What if you don’t know the “right” answers? What if they know that no one will ever find out that they waterboarded you to death?

Wouldn’t it be interesting to learn how many people have died from waterboarding? Think we’ll ever find out? No way!

Opinions, anyone?