Understanding Torture - U.S Techniques

lewrockwell: The President of the United States George W. Bush and his National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, ("Condi" to her friend) have gone on the record emphatically stating that the United States does not employ torture as a method of obtaining information from detainees. Yet Vice President Dick Cheney recently went before Congress to try to exempt the CIA from proposed anti-torture legislation.

What exactly is torture, and what methods do the CIA employ? According to Merriam-Webster, torture is defined as:

1 a : anguish of body or mind : AGONY b : something that causes agony or pain
2 : the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure.

One method allegedly used or not used is called "waterboarding". Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, defines waterboarding, "In the medieval form of waterboarding, a victim was strapped to a board and tipped back or lowered into a body of water until he or she believed that drowning was imminent. The subject was then removed from the water and revived. If necessary the process was repeated.

"There are other forms of waterboarding, but all of them have in common that the victim almost drowns but is rescued or re-animated just before death occurs. The torture is designed to be both psychological and physical. The psychological effect is that the victim is led to believe that he or she is being executed. This reinforces the torturer's control and makes the victim experience mortal fear. The physical effects are extreme pain and damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation and sometimes broken bones because of the restraints on the struggling victim." Read more