America, the torturer

Digg.com’s a funny creature. Sometimes it throws up old stories that are anything but news but are — because of the democratic nature of the site — of great interest. One such that appeared today is an ABC story from November 2005 of CIA torture techniques. It’s shocking, both in terms of the brutality of the techniques employed and in the resulting deaths that have occurred.

Here are two techniques:

The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees. Throughout the time in the cell the prisoner is doused with cold water.

Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner’s face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.

I have a proposition which I believe is entirely logical. If a person believes that torture is a quick and reliable way of establishing the truth, surely we should ascertain whether that person really believes in the efficacy of torture by volunteering to be waterboarded. The average CIA operative who has been subjected to this technique has been willing to confess to anything after only 14 seconds. I suspect that the average person who believes in torture could be persuaded to admit that torture is a completely unacceptable method of interrogation in somewhat less time than that.

Any volunteers?

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