When someone mentions waterboarding, we get a mental picture of a suspected witch strapped to a teeter-totter and being lowered into a pond until she either confesses or drowns. Although Muslims haven't progressed over the centuries, waterboarding has been refined. Today, waterboarding consists of strapping someone to a table with his feet slightly more elevated than his head. 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. According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, was able to last over two minutes before begging to confess. Not even smothering someone for 14 seconds will kill him. Doesn't sound like too inhumane a treatment if it saves lives. Sounds like something I'd have done to my brother.
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