I went through SERE in 83...water boarding was used as, "theater", generally in front of the whole class.

I was very lucky...I made it to "Freedom Village" during the evasion phase and got a sandwich. They attached a washer to my fatigues, along with the other two guys that made it, and off we went to camp after the evasion cycle was complete. It seems you can't be water boarded within a certain amount of time after eating.

I saw one water boarding during the initial interrogation and was very happy it wasn't me. Resistance phase began.

The next 24 hours in camp was a myriad of hard and soft cell stuff...we had a very good XO who organized the herd very well.

I was WB'd, along with the other two guys that made it to Freedom Village, on the morning of the last day of SERE, more than 24 hours after my snack.

I can tell you the sensation was one of the most unpleasant, yet not painful, experiences if I ever had. I did ok on the first run, not so on the second...this was all done in front of the whole class and frankly I didn't want to embarrass myself, that was first and foremost on my mind. I had also kayaked most of my life so the sensation of water in my oxygen tract was not exactly new. I had to get through the first bucket, that was my goal, my immediate aim.

The purpose of SERE is to instruct, to inform. I learned a lot.

So Paul, you're uniquely qualified here to tell all of us armchair interrogators,, Is it torchure??
And are you ok with it on a terrorist suspect??

One does not need to undergo something to know whether it is torture or not.

And whether he is ok with it being used on a terrorist is not relevant since none of the people that posted in this thread so far are against waterboarding being used as an interrogation technique.

I get the impression that the definition given by the UN has made some of you a bit cranky.
That is not the reason why I posted it.
It is IMO an acurate description of what torturing is. It is not different from the definition in the dictionary, just more elaborated.

Torturing is causing pain, extreme discomfort, physically and or mentally for a number of reasons. The most common one would be extracting information, I guess.

My two cents? Waterboarding is torturing. Cruel? Maybe, but unfortunately it is very necessary. It is not like it is being done for fun, harsh times call for harsh methods.

Your opinions may vary.

Well. I didn't have a choich:)

We have been down this road numerous times: I don't, given the parameters of my experiences, think it is. There are some with equal experience and better insight, that think it is.

Endless debate.

The body of evidence concerning coercive interrogation and the validity of the information gained from those methods is interesting. Not my call. I can tell you that after the second small bucket, my Mother needed to change her name.

Its still being done in training for all Spec Ops guys and flight crews. People who think that waterboarding is torture needs to spend some time in the Middle East and see how they treat their prisoners.

+10000000

LOL. :D

I honestly cared more about the death of Michael (i am a child molester) Jackson than i do about what happens to captured terrorists.

We do it to all our own guys.

So you're ok with doing it to our own personnel, but not the enemy?

This country really has grown soft. If it was up to me i'd let a couple nasty and hungry pit bulls loose on them in a confined space, see how fast they start talking.

Interesting thing to study is how other countries torture. The one that I have heard is one of the worst is in the Middle East where they turn the captive over to the women in the tribe, who then have a free hand to do whatever is needed.

It does not take three guesses as to which parts of the body they focus upon, and they are usually very successful, if the captive survives that is.

I thought it was a new event at the olympics.

I've seen frat party gimmicks that were worse than this.

That's my only real input.

Not saying that it couldn't be horrifying under certain circumstances.

I was waterboardered in 1980 at SEAR school, after 5 days of evasion and living off the land. not eating much (only what we found) sleep deprived, beaten by the enemy, I was willing to say/ do anything after that! so as a torture, it can backfire by answering the interrogators questions by telling them what they want. Not always getting useful information. It doesn't hurt, just makes you thing you are drowning. Not a good feeling.

Severe pain is the key. water boarding, sleep deprivation and the like is discomfort. Now kneecapping may be another story.

I never said that, see my quotes below:

that would include me

Enough said.

I don't think any journalist would volunteer for any real form of torture.

Hell, bungy jumping (or pushing) could be a great enhanced interrogation technique!

So a few journalists have signed up to be waterboarded. I don't think any have signed up to have a car battery hooked up to their testicles, to have limbs removed, or to be beaten for weeks on end...

Chris that is a good point.

I am sure it is very uncomfortable but nothing like having bamboo sticks stuck under your fingernails.

Why are U.S. Military personnel waterboarded?

It's not for the fun of it.

Remember that waterboarding is just a part of pow training for selected military personel who might be captured during combat. Like aircrews and specal ops types. The thought is to simulate as close as possible conditions one might experance if captured and how to handle yourself and resist to the best of your ability. It reenforced me to never be captured!

Part of POW training? Why would it be part of POW training? Please expand.