Christopher Hitchens then wrote of his experience, which lasted 17 seconds as you seen. That look on his face is very telling. Jason Linkon wrote of this on the Huff post , pay attention to this part of his piece.
They told me that when I activated the 'dead man's handle' - which is a simple process, you simply release something, let it go - I didn't do that. I practically, even though my hands were bound, I...as near as I could...I threw the thing out of my hand. I mean, I really wanted it to stop.
I could swear I shouted the code word, but I hadn't.
Everything completely goes on you when you're breathing water. You can't think about anything else.
It would be bad enough if you did have something. Suppose if they wanted to know where a relative of yours was...or a lover. You feel, "Well, I'm going to betray them now. Because this has to come to an end. I can't take this anymore." But what if you didn't have anything? What if you'd got the wrong guy? Then you would be in danger of losing your mind very quickly.
That last paragraph, I believe, is critical, especially considering the torture practices of the Chinese Communists - who we are now emulating - were designed to elicit false confessions from those who were tortured.
Attention should be paid to the aftermath of the experience as well, which Hitchens relates thusly:
As a result of this very brief experience, if I do anything that gets my heart rate up, and I'm breathing hard, panting, I have a slight panic sensation that I'm not going to be able to catch my breath again...lately I've been having this feeling of waking up feeling smothered, trying to push everything off my face.
11 comments on Waterboarding: good for false confessions. A writer's Experience
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Good post because torture appears to mainly elicit false confessions. With the sheer number of war prisoners and those who have been labeled "terrorists", it is IMPOSSIBLE that that many people are guilty!
That is exactly what this is about, false confessions if you ask me. They don't care about the truth. They just want someone to claim responsibility so they can say "See we did it!"
I thought i comment here
hurm my comment vanished
From the teror cells there are videos of public beatings, floggings, decapitations, and explosions into "bits" by the other side is acceptable but water boarding is not? What is an acceptable interrigation method? Further, my understanding is this has happened to three people? Not to mention waterboarding has not been used since 2003 and has been specifically prohibited since Gen. Michael Hayden took over as CIA director.
What about the FACT that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who subsequently confessed to a number of ongoing plots against the United States.Who also admitted thatadmitted it was only because of the waterboarding that he talked and that he was humiliated -- not by the treatment but by the fact that a woman, a red-headed CIA supervisor, was allowed to witness the spectacle
Who said their behavior was acceptable? Take that figure up a little more, because the suspect in the bombing in the U.S. Cole (suspect because he confessed, under stress of waterboarding, from my understanding)just was added to that list. We sent japanesee soldiers to prison for doing this to our troops, because it elicits such confessions.
False confessions. Anything to make it stop. was his confession real? Or would he have said yes to anything? How do we know, since the confession was extracted in this manner, that it was real, or truly a fact? I think, this administration, isn't concerned about getting the facts, or the true villian, just someone to say they are the one(s). Especially before election time.
I will have to check into the last time it was performed.
Actually they were not false confessions, he lasted like three minutes and everything else came after the waterboarding like what he said about the lady.
How are you so sure? And are you about every person who got this? How do we know someone wasn't waterboarded until they "signed here"?
I know because he said so in an interveiw later where he was not waterboarded in fact he said it bothered him more that a woman was watching. I am not against waterboarding
So that is one person, what of the others it was used on. And what of our soldiers, when it is used/will be used on them shall you say, "well, what is good for the goose..."
PS. Hope your fourth was better than mine girl! We got rained on here, and work has sucked...UGGGG!
My fourth made me ill. I am wasted let me tell you! The sun leached my energy.