Waterboarding:  It’s Not a Summer Sport

Upon reading J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, one is struck by the conflict in the book over torture, what it is, and what it means for all individuals involved.  This is a conflict mirrored in the news today, as torture, namely waterboarding, and is one of the hot-button issues of the upcoming election.  Initially, I wasn’t sure what exactly waterboarding was, or why it mattered so much, so I did some research.

Q:  What is “waterboarding?”

A:  “Waterboarding” is an interrogation technique where the subject is strapped onto a flat surface at a slight angle so that their feet are raised about twelve inches higher than their head.  Upon questioning, the interrogator forces water into the detainee’s mouth and nasal cavities.  This causes suffocation and water inhalation, simulating drowning.  It is very similar to the idea of dunking the persons head into a basin of water and holding it there, except that in waterboarding the gag reflex is triggered immediately, making it that much more terrifying and diminishing the potential for bruising. 
           
Q:  How did this become such a big deal in today’s debates?

A:  The practice of waterboarding became relevant today upon the surfacing of the “Bybee memo” in 2004.  The Bybee memo was drafted in 2002 and described certain interrogation techniques the Bush administration considered practical.  Among these techniques was waterboarding.  Also, the administration admitted that this practice has been used on numerous detainees since 2002, namely three suspects held for questioning regarding the September 11th attacks.  Debate surrounding this memo exploded, but was quickly hushed as election coverage and campaign strategies stepped into the spotlight.  On February 7th, 2008, U.S. Attorney General Mukasey spoke about this: “Whatever was done as part of a CIA program at the time that it was done was the subject of a Department of Justice opinion ... and was found to be permissible under the law as it existed then.”

Q:  Is “waterboarding” really banned by the Geneva Conventions?

A:  Geneva Convention Part III, Section 1, Article 17 states “"No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.” (The full text of the Geneva Conventions can be found at www.genevaconventions.org).  In 1947, the United States used this convention to convict a Japanese officer of waterboarding U.S. soldiers.  The Japanese officer was subsequently sentenced to fifteen years hard labor.

Q:  If it is banned by the Geneva Conventions, why would it still continue?

A:  The Geneva Conventions apply to “prisoners of war” who are defined as “uniformed soldiers holding rank in a sanctioned army.”  The combatants we currently face do not wear uniforms, and although they do have an organization of ranks and hierarchy, are classified by us as “terrorists.”  To be considered a “terrorist” you do not have to kill anyone; you must simply be suspected of anti-American activities.

Q:  How are the 2008 candidates responding to the torture debate?

A:  Senator McCain was clear about his stance at a 2007 Republican debate, where he stated, “The United States will not torture…and waterboarding is the definition of torture.”  Mitt Romney, however, stated that while torture is wrong, he refuses to discuss what exactly he considers torture.  By contrast, when asked by the moderator of the May 2007 Presidential debate, Rudy Giuliani responded, “I would tell those doing the interrogation to use every method they could think of….  I think we ought to double Guantanamo.”   Guantanamo Bay, as a prison for political detainees, is known for its harsh interrogation methods, and it has also become center stage in the torture debate.  Prisonplanet.com, a website dedicated to humane treatment of inmates, provides a list of candidates who have expressed their desire to close Guantanamo, on this list are all of the major Democratic candidates:  Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Gravel, Kucinich, McCain, Obama, Paul, and Richardson.  The push to close Guantanamo is so strong due to the fear that captured members of our own armed services will be become vulnerable to the forms of torture reportedly practiced at Guantanamo and elsewhere by the CIA.

-- Tom Boice