re: #554 jantjepietje

This is simply not true people died during waterboarding in the past and with almost all the people that underwent waterboarding for training purposes stress levels where measured that exceeded that of people that underwent open heart surgery a very large percentage developed ptsd.

Again, the medic is there to preclude lasting damage to the extent possible. Stress levels on them are of course very high - that’s the whole point of it. Remember, KSM told the ICRC that he was explicitly informed before the interrogation that he would not be exposed to danger of death or lasting physical harm, so the mens rea of torture was not present in the interrogators, and the subject knew it.

People died from the treatment, true, but then, those administering it were either careless, indifferent, or actively seeking the death of the subject; none of those conditions obtain in our use of the method.

PTSD for those waterboarded? Again, if conducted by a barbarian, quite possible. Not to dismiss it out of hand, but PTSD is about the best thing I can wish for in the case of people such as the THREE people on whom the procedure was used. They have nightmares and lasting psychological difficulties from it? Somehow, I’m still able to sleep at night.