July 3, 2008 - There’s been a lot of talk about waterboarding lately. While it may sound like a new sport, it’s really a controversial interrogation technique considered by many to be illegal.
For those lucky few who don’t follow politics, the technique in question is provocative because it blurs the line between what is “effective and necessary” and “torture”. The U.S. government allegedly uses waterboarding to interrogate prisoners - even though they saw fit to prosecute it as a war crime after WWII.
What exactly is waterboarding?
Waterboarding simulates drowning or suffocation in order to make an individual talk. The person is strapped to a board, with their head lower than their feet and chest. Interrogators bind the person’s arms and legs and cover the face, sometimes with cellophane. Water is then repeatedly poured onto the person’s face. The physical experience of being underneath this wave of water makes the person’s believe he/she is drowning, and a gag reflex kicks in. For most, the experience is intolerable.
A number of reporters and journalists have recently tried waterboarding - you can check Current or YouTube for examples. Is it immoral? Is it torture? Is it necessary? Whatever you believe, it’s not a game - and not to be tried at home.
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