While the White House must beware not to inform our enemies what to expect if captured, today’s clueless anti-waterboarding rhetoric merits this tactic’s vigorous defense. Waterboarding is something of which every American should be proud.
Waterboarding makes tight-lipped terrorists talk. At least three major al Qaeda leaders reportedly have been waterboarded, most notably Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
What is waterboarding? The Week explains waterboarding:
A subject bound to an inclined board — with his feet raised and head lowered — while his face is covered with a piece of cloth. The interrogator then pours water over the prisoner’s face in a steady stream, causing the wet material to cling to his mouth and nostrils. As the water pours down, some of it does penetrate the cloth and the nostrils and trickles down into the lungs, and the panicky prisoner bucks and gasps for air. Few people can hold out for very long. CIA personnel who have undergone the experience as part of their training have lasted an average of only 14 seconds before pleading for it to stop. One CIA agent said: “When you’re waterboarded, you’re inverted, so it exacerbates the fear. It’s not painful, but it scares the shit out of you.”
Let’s see: waterboarding or beheadings? I suppose, because it isn’t administered by the United States, these things aren’t torture? Nick Berg? Daniel Pearl? Paul Johnson? Hello? Anyone with a memory? The Fallujah hangings?
Please read the entire above article by Deroy Murdock — something you thought you’d never see in mainstream print, eh?
And the soldiers going through SERE training also get it done to them, with far more of a psychological edge in the conditions, to boot.
Anything can be dangerous, as can waterboarding, but dying of not cleaning up cuts and scrapes gets to be in the top 10 of things Americans die of per year. Apparently professional interrogators who know how to control the use of such techniques are more feared than our own inability to care for ourselves, personally. If just 10% of Americans took better care of themselves and cleaned cuts and scrapes, the lives saved per year would replace Iraq and Afghanistan losses completely.
Apparently there is a part of the political class that is child-like in wanting everything to be nice in the world… and can’t be bothered with their own hygiene. And yet we are dealing with those who have renounced all society, all government and see themselves as a law unto themselves. These are the enemies of mankind and civilization and the only reason we treat them with mercy is that we are a merciful people.
President Lincoln knew what to do with such predators, and if it was good enough for the Great Emancipator, then it is good enough FOR ME.
AJ: you make my point with much greater eloquence as usual.
BZ
All I can say is, “Fill another pitcher and hand it to me.”
I’ll take my turn doing the water torture.
You did a great job of making the point, BZ, but the article on AJ’s blog certainly adds to it.
Some of those pictures make me feel like upchucking, but I’m glad you posted them. I wish we could get these in the faces of all the fools who think that America is the bad guy! It probably would be a wasted effort though, as some people won’t believe it until their own heads are under the sword, or axe, or whatever those cretins decide to use!
And NOW the dipshits at the U.N. are saying that the use of the Taser is torture…
U.N.: Tasers Are A Form Of Torture
Texas Fred: ah hell, take away the Taser, I think that’s great. That’s one less thing I have to think about using from my belt, and I can jump from the baton to my handgun without having to worry about what’s in between on the force continuum. I say: you bet. TAKE the Taser!
BZ
Waterboard the bastards. I didn’t need the other images to say that. But thanks for the reminder anyway.
It is all ridiculous!!