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| '''Waterboarding''' is a form of ]<ref>In its 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the ] formally recognizes "submersion of the head in water" as torture in its examination of ]'s poor human rights record, {{cite journal| first = | last = U.S. Department of State| year =2005 | month = | title =Tunisia | journal = | |||
| {{POV|Lead is skewed toward those considering this practice "not torture"}} | |||
| Country Reports on Human Rights Practices | url =http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61700.htm}}</ref><ref>In April 2006, in , more than 100 U.S. law professors stated unequivocally that waterboarding is torture, and is a criminal felony punishable under the U.S. federal criminal code. See also the definition given by the ].</ref><ref>According to Republican ] ], who was tortured as a ] in ], waterboarding is "torture", "no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank" and can damage the subject's psyche "in ways that may never heal." - Torture's Terrible Toll, Newsweek, November 21, 2005. | http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10019179/site/newsweek/page/2/ ]</ref> specifically ]. It is used to obtain information, coerce confessions, and for punishment and intimidation. Waterboarding consists of immobilizing an individual and pouring water over his face to simulate ], which produces a severe ], making the subject believe his death is imminent while ideally not causing permanent physical damage. "The threat of imminent death" is one of the legal definitions of torture under U.S. law <ref></ref>. The UN Convention against Torture prohibits the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering <ref> Signatories 74, Parties 136, As of 23 April 2004 </ref><ref> Article 7, "Crimes against humanity" Definition of torture 7-2:e </ref> In November 2005, anonymous sources told ABC news that the U.S. ] uses waterboarding, but does not deem it torture.<ref>"The sources told ABC that the techniques, while progressively aggressive, are not deemed torture" in </ref> However CIA Inspector General ] has said the techniques "appeared to constitute cruel, and degrading treatment under the (Geneva) convention."<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1322866</ref> | |||
| The practice garnered renewed attention and notoriety in September 2006 when further reports charged that the ] had authorized its use in the interrogations of ], often referred to as "detainees" in the U.S. ].<ref> by ] and Richard Esposito, September 06, 2006</ref> ABC News reported that current and former CIA officers stated that "there is a presidential finding, signed in 2002, by President Bush, Condoleezza Rice and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft approving the ], including water boarding."<ref> ABC News, November 29, 2005</ref> Though the Bush administration has never formally acknowledged its use, ] ] told an interviewer that he did not believe "a dunk in water" to be a form of torture but rather a "very important tool" for use in interrogations, including that of ].<ref>Official White House Transcript, , October 24, 2006.</ref> The Whitehouse clarified that Cheney had not been referring to waterboarding. | The practice garnered renewed attention and notoriety in September 2006 when further reports charged that the ] had authorized its use in the interrogations of ], often referred to as "detainees" in the U.S. ].<ref> by ] and Richard Esposito, September 06, 2006</ref> ABC News reported that current and former CIA officers stated that "there is a presidential finding, signed in 2002, by President Bush, Condoleezza Rice and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft approving the ], including water boarding."<ref> ABC News, November 29, 2005</ref> Though the Bush administration has never formally acknowledged its use, ] ] told an interviewer that he did not believe "a dunk in water" to be a form of torture but rather a "very important tool" for use in interrogations, including that of ].<ref>Official White House Transcript, , October 24, 2006.</ref> The Whitehouse clarified that Cheney had not been referring to waterboarding. | ||
Revision as of 04:40, 22 July 2007
Waterboarding is a form of torture specifically water torture. It is used to obtain information, coerce confessions, and for punishment and intimidation. Waterboarding consists of immobilizing an individual and pouring water over his face to simulate drowning, which produces a severe gag reflex, making the subject believe his death is imminent while ideally not causing permanent physical damage. "The threat of imminent death" is one of the legal definitions of torture under U.S. law . The UN Convention against Torture prohibits the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering In November 2005, anonymous sources told ABC news that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency uses waterboarding, but does not deem it torture. However CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson has said the techniques "appeared to constitute cruel, and degrading treatment under the (Geneva) convention."
The practice garnered renewed attention and notoriety in September 2006 when further reports charged that the Bush administration had authorized its use in the interrogations of Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, often referred to as "detainees" in the U.S. War on Terror. ABC News reported that current and former CIA officers stated that "there is a presidential finding, signed in 2002, by President Bush, Condoleezza Rice and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft approving the "enhanced" interrogation techniques, including water boarding." Though the Bush administration has never formally acknowledged its use, Vice President Dick Cheney told an interviewer that he did not believe "a dunk in water" to be a form of torture but rather a "very important tool" for use in interrogations, including that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The Whitehouse clarified that Cheney had not been referring to waterboarding.
According to Republican United States Senator John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, waterboarding is "torture", "no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank" and can damage the subject's psyche "in ways that may never heal." In a May 15, 2007 debate among Republican Party candidates for U.S. president, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said he would allow waterboarding in a situation where "we know that there's going to be another attack and these people know about it."
Current Developments
- On July 20, 2007 U.S. President George W. Bush signed an executive order banning torture during interrogation of terror suspects. While the guidelines for interrogation do not specify whether waterboarding would be banned, they specifically refer to torture as defined by 18 USC 2340, which includes "the threat of imminent death," as well as the U.S. constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
- Human Rights Watch sums up their response as "The White House is basically saying: Trust us. Everything in that other document we're not showing you is legal. But the people in charge of interpreting this document don't have a particularly good track record of reasonable legal analysis."
- General Hayden of the CIA defended the order saying that the White House order would allow the CIA to "focus on our vital work, confident that our mission and authorities are clearly defined."
Technique
The waterboarding technique, characterized in 2005 by former CIA director Porter J. Goss as a "professional interrogation technique," is described as follows by journalist Julia Layton:
Water boarding as it is currently described involves strapping a person to an inclined board, with his feet raised and his head lowered. The interrogators bind the person's arms and legs so he can't move at all, and they cover his face. In some descriptions, the person is gagged, and some sort of cloth covers his nose and mouth; in others, his face is wrapped in cellophane. The interrogator then repeatedly pours water onto the person's face. Depending on the exact setup, the water may or may not actually get into the person's mouth and nose; but the physical experience of being underneath a wave of water seems to be secondary to the psychological experience. The person's mind believes he is drowning, and his gag reflex kicks in as if he were choking on all that water falling on his face.
CIA officers who subject themselves to the technique last an average of 14 seconds before caving in.
Effects
The physical effects of poorly executed waterboarding can include extreme pain and damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, and sometimes broken bones because of the restraints applied to the struggling victim. The psychological effects can be long lasting. Prolonged waterboarding can also result in death.
Dr. Allen Keller, the director of the Bellevue/N.Y.U. Program for Survivors of Torture, has treated "a number of people" who had been subjected to forms of near-asphyxiation, including waterboarding. An interview for The New Yorker states, " argued that it was indeed torture. 'Some victims were still traumatized years later', he said. One patient couldn't take showers, and panicked when it rained. 'The fear of being killed is a terrifying experience,' he said."
Proponents argue that the technique is effective in producing information while only being used as a last resort to obtain what is deemed to be critical information. They also argue that there is almost no risk of long-term bodily harm and that it has been made known that so far it has worked every time it has been tried. Opponents, however, argue that this information may not be reliable because a person under such duress may be willing to admit to anything. The UN Convention Against Torture, which the United States ratified in 1994 , provides in Article 2: "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture." Former CIA officer Bob Baer states that it is "bad interrogation. I mean you can get anyone to confess to anything if the torture's bad enough."
Legality
International Law
All countries that are signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture have agreed they are subjected to the explicit prohibition on torture under any condition, and as such there exists no legal exception under this treaty which states that No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.. Additionally, countries that are signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have agreed "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" is also by Article 5.
United States
The U.S. is signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture, so despite the suggestion that "enhanced interrogation techniques" fall outside the scope of this treaty they are legally bound by the universal prohibition on any form of torture.
- On September 6, 2006, the United States Department of Defense released a revised Army Field Manual entitled Human Intelligence Collector Operations that prohibits the use of waterboarding by U.S. military personnel. The revised manual was adopted amid widespread criticism of U.S. handling of prisoners in the War on Terrorism, and prohibits other practices in addition to waterboarding. The revised manual applies to U.S. military personnel, and as such does not apply to the practices of the CIA. Nevertheless, under international law any person violating the laws of war is criminally liable under the command responsibility and could still be prosecuted for war crimes.
- In its 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. Department of State formally recognizes "submersion of the head in water" as torture in its examination of Tunisia's poor human rights record, and critics of waterboarding draw parallels between the two techniques, citing the similar usage of water on the subject.
- In an older case, a Japanese military officer, Yukio Asano, was tried by the United States in 1947 for carrying out a form of waterboarding on a U.S. civilian during World War II, and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. The charges of Violation of the Laws and Customs of War against Asano also included "beating using hands, fists, club; kicking; burning using cigarettes; strapping on a stretcher head downward."
- Senior law enforcement agents with the Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF) told MSNBC.com in 2006 that they began to complain inside the Defense Department in 2002 that the "interrogation" tactics used by a separate team of intelligence investigators were unproductive, not likely to produce reliable information, and probably illegal. Unable to get satisfaction from the Army commanders running the detainee camp, they took their concerns to David Brant, director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), who alerted Navy General Counsel Alberto J. Mora.
- General Counsel Mora and Navy Judge Advocate General Michael Lohr believed the detainee treatment to be unlawful, and campaigned among other top lawyers and officials in the Defense Department to investigate, and to provide clear standards prohibiting coercive interrogation tactics. In response, on January 15, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld suspended the approved interrogation tactics at Guantánamo until a new set of guidelines could be produced by a working group headed by General Counsel of the Air Force Mary Walker. The working group based its new guidelines on a legal memo from the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel written by John Yoo and signed by Jay S. Bybee, which would later become widely known as the "Torture Memo". General Counsel Mora led a faction of the Working Group in arguing against these standards, and argued the issues with Yoo in person. The working group's final report, was signed and delivered to Guantánamo without the knowledge of Mora and the others who had opposed its content. Nonetheless, Mora has maintained that detainee treatment has been consistent with the law since the January 15 2003 suspension of previously approved interrogation tactics.
Use by the United States Government
There have been many reports that the United States has used waterboarding to interrogate prisoners captured in its "War on Terrorism". In November 2005, ABC News reported that former CIA agents claimed the CIA had engaged in a modern form of waterboarding, along with five other "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques", against suspected members of al Qaeda, including Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. On October 27, 2006 during a radio interview with Scott Hennen of radio station WDAY, Vice President Dick Cheney apparently agreed with the use of waterboarding, specifically mentioning Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. The following are the questions and answers at issue, excerpted from the White House transcript of the interview:
- Hennen: "...And I've had people call and say, please, let the Vice President know that if it takes dunking a terrorist in water, we're all for it, if it saves American lives. Again, this debate seems a little silly given the threat we face, would you agree?"
- Cheney: "I do agree. And I think the terrorist threat, for example, with respect to our ability to interrogate high value detainees like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, that's been a very important tool that we've had to be able to secure the nation. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed provided us with enormously valuable information about how many there are, about how they plan, what their training processes are and so forth, we've learned a lot. We need to be able to continue that."
- ...
- Hennen: "Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?"
- Cheney: "Well, it's a no-brainer for me, but for a while there I was criticized as being the vice president for torture. We don't torture. That's not what we're involved in."
The White House later denied that Cheney had confirmed the use of waterboarding, saying that U.S. officials do not talk publicly about interrogation techniques because they are classified. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that Cheney had not been referring to waterboarding, but only to a "dunk in the water", prompting one reporter to ask, "So dunk in the water means, what, we have a pool now at Guantanamo and they go swimming?" Tony Snow replied, "You doing stand-up?"
Historical uses
A form of waterboarding was used by agents of the Dutch East India Company during the Amboyna Massacre in 1623. At that time, it consisted of wrapping cloth around a victim's head, after which the torturers "poured the water softly upon his head until the cloth was full, up to the mouth and nostrils, and somewhat higher, so that he could not draw breath but he must suck in all the water." In one case, this was applied three or four times successively until the victim's "body was swollen twice or thrice as big as before, his cheeks like great bladders, and his eyes staring and strutting out beyond his forehead."
During World War II, waterboarding was one of the torture methods used by Japanese troops, especially the Kempeitai. During the Double Tenth Incident, it consisted of binding or holding down the victim on his back, placing a cloth over his mouth and nose, and pouring water onto the cloth. In this version, interrogation continued during the torture, with the interrogators beating the victim if he did not reply and the victim swallowing water if he opened his mouth to answer or breathe; when the victim could ingest no more water, the interrogators would beat or jump on his distended stomach.
Waterboarding was one of the torture methods used by the Khmer Rouge at Tuol Sleng between 1975 and 1979. It was depicted in a painting by the former inmate Vann Nath.
Waterboarding in popular culture
- The historical form of waterboarding was represented as having been used by the Waffen SS of the Third Reich in the Robin Williams movie Jakob the Liar.
- The modern form of waterboarding is dramatised in some detail in the Patrick Robinson novel USS Seawolf and the 2006 Robert DeNiro film The Good Shepherd.
- In an episode of E-Ring entitled "Hard Cell", a member of the team is subjected to waterboarding. The episode itself is a dialogue on the debate of the use of torture to obtain information that might save other lives.
References
- In its 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. Department of State formally recognizes "submersion of the head in water" as torture in its examination of Tunisia's poor human rights record, U.S. Department of State (2005). "Tunisia". Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|month=(help) - In April 2006, in letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez., more than 100 U.S. law professors stated unequivocally that waterboarding is torture, and is a criminal felony punishable under the U.S. federal criminal code. See also the definition given by the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
- According to Republican United States Senator John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, waterboarding is "torture", "no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank" and can damage the subject's psyche "in ways that may never heal." - Torture's Terrible Toll, Newsweek, November 21, 2005. | http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10019179/site/newsweek/page/2/ ]
- Chapter 18 United States Code, section 2340
- UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984 Signatories 74, Parties 136, As of 23 April 2004
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Article 7, "Crimes against humanity" Definition of torture 7-2:e
- "The sources told ABC that the techniques, while progressively aggressive, are not deemed torture" in CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described
- http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1322866
- "Variety of Interrogation Techniques Said to Be Authorized by CIA" by Brian Ross and Richard Esposito, September 06, 2006
- "History of an Interrogation Technique: Water Boarding" ABC News, November 29, 2005
- Official White House Transcript, Interview of the Vice President by Scott Hennen, WDAY at Radio Day at the White House, October 24, 2006.
- Torture's Terrible Toll, Newsweek, November 21, 2005.
- http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/05/waterboarding_ashcroft.html
- "Bush bans terror suspect torture" BBC News July 20, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6909331.stm
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070720-4.html
- Human Rights Watch, Trust us. Everything in that other document we're not showing you is legal, July. 20, 2007.
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070720-4.html New York Times quote of General Hayden
- Human Rights Watch, CIA Whitewashing Torture: Statements by Goss Contradict U.S. Law and Practice, Nov. 21, 2005.
- What is Waterboarding?
- Ross, Brian (2006). "CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described". abcnews.go.com.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Open Letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales by Human Rights News
- Mayer, Jane (2005). "Outsourcing Torture". The New Yorker.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=24653
- http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1322866
- Jelinek, Pauline (2006). "Army Bans Some Interrogation Techniques". Associated Press.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Report on command responsibility for detainee abuse JURIST, April 24, 2005
- U.S. Department of State (2005). "Tunisia". Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|month=(help) - Pincus, Walter, "Waterboarding Historically Controversial; In 1947, the U.S. Called It a War Crime; in 1968, It Reportedly Caused an Investigation" Washington Post, 10/5/2006, pg. A17. viewed 10/5/2006
- Case Defendant: Asano, Yukio from Case Synopses from Judge Advocate's Reviews Yokohama Class B and C War Crimed Trials. Accessed on March 7 2006
- "Gitmo interrogations spark battle over tactics". 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - "Memorandum for Inspector General, Department of the Navy. Statement for the record: Office of General Councel involvement in interrogation issues" (PDF). 2005. Retrieved 2006-03-19.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - "Tribunals Didn't Rely on Torture". Washington Post: A20. 2004.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ABC News Investigation
- "Cheney endorses simulated drowning" by Demetri Sevastopulo, October 27, 2006
- White House Transcript of Dick Cheney Interview
- Press Briefing by Tony Snow
- From A True Relation of the Unjust, Cruel and Barbarous Proceedings against the English at Amboyna (1624), cited in Milton, Giles, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History (Spectre, 1999, 328); spellings have been modernized. Also cited with variations in Keay, John, The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company (HarperCollins, 1993, 49); and Kerrigan, Michael, The Instruments of Torture (Spellmount, 2001, 85). See also excerpts from A memento for Holland (1652) at Blogging the Renaissance
- Ibid, cited in Milton 328-9, Keay 49 and Kerrigan 85. Spellings have been modernized.
- Sidhu, H. The Bamboo Fortress: True Singapore War Stories (Native, 1991, 113), a paraphrase of testimony presented during the Double Tenth war crimes trial. Some of this testimony has been transcribed and posted at Yawning Bread
See also
- At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA
- Command responsibility
- Dunking
- Enhanced interrogation techniques
- Water cure