Waterboarding is An Acceptable Means of Intelligence Gathering

A1. Waterboarding is not torture. The word "torture" is defined as: "the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty. " "Torture involves extreme, brutal pain — breaking bones, passing out from pain, beatings so severe that blood spatters the walls . . . [popping] shoulders out of joints. .. " Col. Leo Thorsness was subjected to this during the Vietnam War by his NVA captors. Adm. Jeremiah Denton winked the word "t-o-r-t-u-r-e" in Morse code during a propaganda interview while being held by the North Vietnamese. He was subjected to "excruciating pain" for this. Denton says now that "Waterboarding is not an evil. Some of the things [the NVA] did to us were torture. I passed out a dozen times from torture. We’re not exerting that kind of excruciation. ” A document found in an al Qaeda safe house in 2007 depicted diagrams of common torture methods used by terrorists. Some of the methods included limb severing, eye removal, using a clothes iron against the skin, being hung and electrocuted, or putting a subject’s head in a vise. At the time this safe house was raided, coalition forces found a man hanging from the ceiling. He was being kept alive and tortured daily. What is waterboarding? "The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt. " It’s important to note that at no time is the subject actually drowning. Waterboarding is different than torture. a. Waterboarding causes no injuries or lasting physical effects. c. It causes no "excruciating pain. " In fact, it causes none. d. Torture works to systematically destroy the body over time. Waterboarding lasts 90 seconds or less; in most cases about 20. The object is not pain; it is fear and psychological uncertainty. Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down, explains that “in most cases, what works is fear, fear of imprisonment, fear of discomfort, fear of pain. .. ” Waterboarding works on “fear of pain,” not pain itself. As Bowden states, “Fear works better than pain. ” Rivkin and Casey explain that “[Advanced] interrogation methods have been adapted from the U. S. military's own Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (or SERE) training program, and have been used for years on thousands of American service members with the full knowledge of Congress. ” A2. It is effective. Critics of waterboarding claim that terrorists lie to end the torture. However, it has been widely reported that the three waterboarded terrorists have offered up a plethora of information leading to high-profile targets and thwarted plots. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, “possessed a wide-ranging knowledge of the network’s plans, logistics and personnel,” writes Vasko Kohlmayer. “Unwilling to share it voluntarily, he was subjected to forced interrogation…he held out until the interrogators decided to proceed with waterboarding. ” KSM, as he is known, lasted the longest. Accounts vary, but the average time given is 2 minutes, well under the limit of time a human being can be deprived of oxygen with no lasting effects. [Note: KSM was waterboarded many more times, and never lasted past 20 seconds after that without giving large amounts of reliable information, further proving the tactic’s effectiveness. ] His information ultimately led to the death of Osama bin Laden, as well as the thwarting of many terrorist plots—including a plan to crash another jetliner, this time in Los Angeles. Other methods of advanced interrogation are also effective but as former CIA interrogator John Kiriakou states in the case of Abu Zubaydah, "Those tricks of the trade require a great deal of time … we didn't have that luxury. ” A3. Waterboarding has saved lives. This is proven in A2 and A5. A4. Congress was not only aware of its use all along, but actually questioned whether waterboarding was aggressive enough. In 2002, four members of Congress—including Rep. Nancy Pelosi—were given a “virtual tour” of the CIA program that included advanced techniques. They were briefed on the methods used, their effectiveness, and exactly how those methods were performed. At that time, not only were no objectives raised, but “two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder. ” One official present stated that “The briefer was specifically asked if the methods were tough enough. ” All told, from 2002 to 2003, almost 30 more briefings were given to members of Congress on both sides. Porter J. Goss, one of those present, states that “there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing…and the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement. ” The attitude, as another official put it, was “We don't care what you do to those guys as long as you get the information you need to protect the American people. ” A5. Waterboarding does not lead to a “slippery slope” of torture. Claiming that waterboarding, which is not torture as evidenced in A1, will definitively lead to torture is like saying marijuana (highly contested as to its “drug” status) will definitively lead to heroin addiction. Since my opponent is for drug legalization, I highly doubt he would condone such a statement. The morality issue is moot as well. Morality can be argued to be a subjective term, based on religion, political affiliation, and upbringing. Obviously the terrorists’ idea of morality does not rule out terrorism. However, the “Western” idea of morality, while eschewing actual “torture” methods, holds innocent life and its protection to be above that of protecting criminals and terrorists. Several victims of actual torture have spoken out in favor of waterboarding. In addition to Thorsness and Denton, Col. Bud Day has also lent his support to the practice. He is a former POW who received the Medal of Honor for escaping from an NVA POW camp. When he was caught, his arm was broken in three places and he had been shot twice. "I am a supporter of waterboarding,” he says. “It is not torture. Torture is really hurting someone. Waterboarding is just scaring someone, with no long-term injurious effects. It is a scare tactic that works. " Those who would criticize waterboarding at any time would do well to consider the idea that even KSM’s 83 instances of waterboarding, at an average of 20 seconds each (save the initial 90 second event), constitute 29.16 minutes when the 90 seconds is added on. That is one half hour of extreme emotional and mental distress, visited upon an evil man who sought the destruction of innocent American lives en masse, and literally spent years planning and carrying out just such an event. Even if those 30 minutes led to one innocent American citizen from dying due to a terrorist act, it renders the practice distasteful, but acceptable. The fact that his half hour of discomfort led to the protection of potentially thousands of lives saved makes the practice of waterboarding a necessary “tool in the box” of interrogators who are working to protect American lives from acts of terrorism. I thank my opponent again for this opportunity and thank readers for their time. 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