Waterboarding for dummies - deeply disturbing.

[Richard D]

Interrogators pumped detainees full of so much water that the CIA turned to a special saline solution to minimize the risk of death, the documents show. The agency used a gurney "specially designed" to tilt backwards at a perfect angle to maximize the water entering the prisoner's nose and mouth, intensifying the sense of choking – and to be lifted upright quickly in the event that a prisoner stopped breathing.

The documents also lay out, in chilling detail, exactly what should occur in each two-hour waterboarding "session." Interrogators were instructed to start pouring water right after a detainee exhaled, to ensure he inhaled water, not air, in his next breath. They could use their hands to "dam the runoff" and prevent water from spilling out of a detainee's mouth. They were allowed six separate 40-second "applications" of liquid in each two-hour session – and could dump water over a detainee's nose and mouth for a total of 12 minutes a day. Finally, to keep detainees alive even if they inhaled their own vomit during a session – a not-uncommon side effect of waterboarding – the prisoners were kept on a liquid diet. The agency recommended Ensure Plus.

"This is revolting and it is deeply disturbing," said Dr. Scott Allen, co-director of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights at Brown University who has reviewed all of the documents for Physicians for Human Rights. "The so-called science here is a total departure from any ethics or any legitimate purpose. They are saying, ‘This is how risky and harmful the procedure is, but we are still going to do it.' It just sounds like lunacy," he said. "This fine-tuning of torture is unethical, incompetent and a disgrace to medicine."


http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/03/09/waterboarding_for_dummies/index.html?source=rss&aim=/news/feature

[Cleita]

1. Torquemada would be proud.

The Inquisition of the Middle Ages prided themselves on exquisite torture techniques that could leave little bodily harm if the prisoner was allowed to live. It's kind of like how those who batter their spouses and children make sure there isn't anything visible for others to see.

[G_j]

2. just a reminder

torture is a war crime.

[tavalon]

5. And another reminder

Transparency hasn't come to this country. We could still be torturing at black ops sites. As a matter of fact, we don't know if the black ops sites are gone. We know that Guantanamo isn't gone.

[G_j]

10. I'm sure they still exist

is torture taking place at them? I don't know.

[Toots]

9. Just a reminder the Administration does not care.

Democrats do not care how horrible Republicans behave and will do absolutely nothing to ever stop them.

[xocet]

3. War Crimes....

These people need to be prosecuted.

[OnyxCollie]

4. "Policy differences."

Nothing to see here. Move along.

[zbdent]

6. anybody who supports waterboarding should first be boarded ...

I mean, it's not "torture", right? By the RWers' definition (organ failure), it's not torture ...

[Solly Mack]

7. "good faith"

Snort

[LeftHander]

8. fraternity pranks...bad apples....GOP said so....nt

[Solly Mack]

11. kick

[G_j]

12. Kick

[G_j]

13. --