Letters to the Editor

• Cheney will still like it

  [Read the article: Here's what waterboarding looks like]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  as awful as this was for me to watch and knowing that my view is that it is torture, this video - as the only public video out there - worried me. I'm afraid that for most people the technique won't look "bad enough" to make them not wish it on a potential terrorist - esp. after the show "24" has convinced people torture works.

  First, the guy was trained for this stuff and had had it done before so he knew what to expect. His psychological reaction certainly wasn't typical since he knew he wasn't going to be killed. Second, they didn't take vital signs to show how person reacts and for much of it he wasn't thrashing about so the response wasn't as clear. He didn't choke/vomit or hyperventilate it seemed. Finally, he was able to endure 24 minutes of it.

  So if the standard Bushie line is torture must be tantamount to the pain of organ failure or death, this didn't meet that standard as it looked on screen. I fear if Cheney saw this, he'd say, "see, like I said before, it's just a little dunk in the water."

  Permalink Thursday, November 1, 2007 04:32 AM