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Thursday, December 29, 2005

The Virtues Of Waterboarding

Hmm...

Moral and legal aspects aside, conventional wisdom is that torture simply isn't practical: that someone who is being tortured will say anything to make the torture stop, and that information gleaned through torture is therefore not reliable.

Some former military and intelligence officers say, however, that physically aggressive interrogation techniques that some human rights groups consider torture can be effective in the short term. When asked for specifics, the technique they cite is "waterboarding," in which water is poured over a subject's face to create the sensation of drowning.

Consider Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the 39-year-old former al-Qaida operative who was the Sept. 11 mastermind and bearer of many al-Qaida secrets.

If anyone had a motive for remaining silent it was the man known to terrorism investigators as "KSM." But not long after his capture in Pakistan, in March 2003, KSM began to talk.

He ultimately had so much to say that more than 100 footnoted references to the CIA's interrogations of KSM are contained in the final report of the commission that investigated Sept. 11.

Not that everything KSM said was believable. But much of his information checked out in separate questioning of other captures al-Qaida figures.

What made KSM decide to talk? The answer may be waterboarding, to which KSM was subjected on at least one occasion, according to various accounts.


Read the whole thing.

Unfortunately for us, techniques like "waterboarding" may well now be off-limits thanks to Senator John McCain's feel good legislation that banned "inhumane" treatment of war prisoners. Of course, to most of us having water poured in your face isn't exactly "inhumane," but when you're a Democrat (like Dick "Gitmo Is A Gulag" Durbing) the thereshold for what is and is not "inhumane" is pretty low.

Comments

Avatar for Dave

The big question is if KSM’s situation is the exception or the rule.

Dave on December 29, 2005 at 08:13 pm
Avatar for MikeAdamson

I don’t have too much difficulty with pouring water into faces but I am opposed to waterboarding as an interrogation technique.

MikeAdamson on December 30, 2005 at 09:12 am
Rob
Rob
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Well, that’s where you and I differ Mike.  If waterboarding is effective I see no reason why it shouldn’t be used to elicit information from terror suspects.


When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

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Rob on December 30, 2005 at 11:12 am
Avatar for They Get Letters

Waterboarding is just getting water poured on your face, says a rightie blogger , and has the virtue of getting accurate information, since we know of one case where it did. (Well, not entirely accurate. And the info was all historical rather than the “ticking time bomb” scenario we’re all waiting for, so no lives were actually

They Get Letters on December 30, 2005 at 07:12 pm
Avatar for Dave

Rob wrote:

Unfortunately for us, techniques like “waterboarding” may well now be off-limits thanks to Senator John McCain’s feel good legislation that banned “inhumane” treatment of war prisoners.

Wait a sec. If the President’s Article II powers enable him to ignore FISA in pursuit of the War on Terror (as you’ve claimed), surely they must enable him to ignore McCain’s legislation, yes? How is this even an issue?

Dave on January 2, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Avatar for MikeAdamson

If the President’s Article II powers enable him to ignore FISA in pursuit of the War on Terror (as you’ve claimed), surely they must enable him to ignore McCain’s legislation, yes?

This has been nagging at me as well. I’m thinking it must be about time to capture an Al Qaeda #3...it’s been a while.

MikeAdamson on January 2, 2006 at 12:01 pm
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