Malcolm Nance, one of the most insightful observers of the Iraq insurgency, takes a break from his usual trenchant analysis of strategy and tactics to weigh in on waterboarding.
From his personal experience.
If you have any questions about torture in general or waterboarding in particular, it's really a must-read. Money quote:
As a former Master Instructor and Chief of Training at the US Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School (SERE) in San Diego, California I know the waterboard personally and intimately. SERE staff were required undergo the waterboard at its fullest. I was no exception. I have personally led, witnessed and supervised waterboarding of hundreds of people . . .I'm not even that up in arms about Mukasey in particular -- it seems weird to me that after doing nothing about torture for years, the Senate is suddenly supposed to take a hard line (it reminds me of the Davos filibuster, a little -- too little too late!) -- but Democrats need to get out in front of this issue.
Waterboarding is slow motion suffocation with enough time to contemplate the inevitability of black out and expiration –usually the person goes into hysterics on the board. For the uninitiated, it is horrifying to watch and if it goes wrong, it can lead straight to terminal hypoxia. When done right it is controlled death.
Torture is for despicable regimes. It's beneath us, and if we could get past fascism and communism without resorting to it, we don't need to lower ourselves to that level now. If and when the 24 ticking-time-bomb scenarios occur in real life, then maybe that changes things. But for now, torture advocates are trying to put us at the level of the people we despise, and it's a disgrace.
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