How is waterboarding torture?

Question

There has been a bunch of talk about waterboarding being torture in the news lately. My question is "Is waterboarding torture?" By definition torture is ' (1)to cause intense suffering, (2)to punish or coerce by causing excruciating pain, or (3) to be cruelly painful.

From what I've seen of waterboarding it does not cause intense excruciating pain, it just immitates drowning. While that might be mentally taxing I'm not sure it equals torture.

Answer 1

Waterboarding is a torture technique that simulates drowning in a controlled environment. It consists of immobilizing an individual on his or her back, with the head inclined downward, and pouring water over the face to force the inhalation of water into the lungs. Waterboarding has been used to obtain information, coerce confessions, punish, and intimidate. In contrast to merely submerging the head, waterboarding elicits the gag reflex. If you think it is not torture, think again. Try holding your breath or breathe water instead of air.

Answer 2

Yes Water boarding is torture , the technique has a very long and infamous history . It was a common interrogation technique during the Italian Inquisition of the 1500s and was used in Cambodian prisons during the reign of the Khmer Rouge regime during the 1970s. As late as November 2005, water boarding was on the CIA's list of approved "enhanced interrogation techniques" intended for use against high-value terror suspects. And according to memos released by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2009, water boarding was among 10 torture techniques authorized for the interrogation of an al-Qaida operative. Basically water boarding makes a person feel like he is drowning it is a violation of international law which prohibits inhumane treatment of captives, also torture has been proven to be an unreliable method of collecting information, the fact that Marines are trained to resist water boarding is proof.

Answer 3

It "just" imitates drowning? Picture lying on an inclining board with your feet higher than your head. Someone pours buckets of water on your face so the water runs into your nostrils and you can't breathe through either your mouth or nose. They do this until you want to die. Is this not torture?

Answer 4

Have you ever heard of Chinese Water TORTURE? It's when a continuous drip of water drips on one part of your body, especially the cranium, and over time, creates a crevice that isn't natural. I think the real question is: "Is torture necessary, given the circumstances?"

Answer 5

Some people consider anything that is scary or feels life threatening to be torture. Of course, some people believe Gitmo and Abu Graihb were torture.

Answer 6

It not only is mentally taxing, it makes every muscle in your body tense in a matter of seconds to the point of excrusiating pain.

If it made Abu ... crack, it's gotta be pretty rough.

Answer 7

If someone brought you to the point that you thought that you were going to die that would be torture!

Answer 8

i think its useful and covineint i mean if the person is hiding something important, something that can be dangerous for other ppl then they should do that technique. but the fact that some officials declined and refused having one when there actually was torture...then thats what bugs me.

Answer 9

it's not. pulling fingernails is torture.
Free drug Friday at the post office is torture.
sense the gang of 4 in DC not only knew about it but approved i drought it will be considered torture any longer..

Answer 10

I had this discussion with someone today!! TECHNICALLY its not torture. It doesn't fit the definition. Its ethical responsibility is a totally different situation.