Waterboarding bait and switch - how come no one is asking...

What else has been done in our country's name when it comes to torture? The observation I've made is everyone is focused on the admitting of waterboarding, while not even bothering to ask what else has been done.

This is a valid question that should be asked and answered, but it seems as if the waterboarding is as deep as many want to go. (Not here, of course).

torture that may be conducted in our name.

Since the human imagination is limitless, it is counter productive to get boxed into a "this horrible techniques is torture and this other horrible thing isn't.

I think the Bush administration has hoodwinked everyone because on its face, "waterboarding" appears to be the most mild form of torture and other forms are being completely ignored because "waterboarding" has encompassed the entire debate. In other words, the Bushies are persuading everyone that all they ever did was just "waterboarding", when I'm thinking that is very unlikely. I'm not trying to put a value one one form of torture over another, just pointing out I've noticed that all the discussion mainly deals with "waterboarding."

To contrast this, recall that many WOT prisoners in our custody have been murdered and have received far less coverage than "waterboarding" which leads me to wonder why.

Hope that clarifies my thoughts.

"In Contravention of Conventional Wisdom: CIA 'no touch' torture" (started 1-24-2008)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x333974

doesn't mean they're for something worse. I'm against the raping of the Constitution and trashing of the Geneva Convention Treaty against torture or murder. I believe when we adopt the tactics of those we despise, we become as them. I believe the true power of the American Nation lies in our ideals based on the bedrock of the rule of law and respect for humanity and when we disregard those, we in turn will inevitably be disregarded by the rest of Earth.

Furthermore, I believe our economic condition is directly tied to our behavior and the subsequent respect or lack of we garner around the rest of the planet. Ironically we've taken to printing "In God We Trust" on our money in spite of the fact that Jesus threw the money changers out of the Temple, meanwhile many of those in power proclaim us to be predominately a Christian Nation, this also in spite of the fact that our Constitution proclaims us to be a humanistic nation not impeding or respecting any religion, but more to the point when you print "In God We Trust" on our money and then support torture and possibly murder something has to give so the people lose faith in the almighty dollar for which we've placed on the planet's altar of credibility.

Technique details under the Bush administration

According to ABC News<42>, former and current CIA officals have come forward to reveal details of interrogation techniques authorised in the CIA. These include:

1.The Attention Grab: The interrogator forcefully grabs the shirt front of the prisoner and shakes him.


2.Attention Slap: An open-handed slap aimed at causing pain and triggering fear.

3.The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the abdomen. The aim is to cause pain, but not internal injury. Doctors consulted advised against using a punch, which could cause lasting internal damage.

4.Long Time Standing: This technique is described as among the most effective. Prisoners are forced to stand, handcuffed and with their feet shackled to an eye bolt in the floor, for more than 40 hours. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation are effective in yielding confessions.

5.The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).

6.Waterboarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Material 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.
Methods used at GITMO

1.Prolonged sleep deprivation,

2.Sensory deprivation,

3.Extremely painful "stress positions,"

4.Sensory bombardment (such as prolonged loud noise and/or bright lights),

5.Forced nakedness,

6.Sexual humiliation,

7.Cultural humiliation (such as desecration of holy scriptures),

8.Being subjected to extreme cold that induces hypothermia,

9.Exploitation of phobias,

10.Simulation of the experience of drowning and controlled drowning, i.e., waterboarding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_interrogation_techniques#Technique_details_under_the_Bush_administration

we conduct rendition for the purpose of getting them waterboarded somewhere else?

No, on both counts. As has happened countless times (ie immunity in NSA scandal), the issue has been narrowed to one debate item so that when compromise is reached on that one item, the whole issue goes away, including much more egregious misdeeds. Rs, Ds, and MSM are all to blame. We're being worked from all sides.

A 1948 Norwegian court case<23> described the use of hypothermia identical to the reports from Guantanamo Bay. Sullivan and Gorman contend that the defence used by the Nazis for applying the techniques "is almost verbatim that of the Bush administration." Most notably the concept of unlawful enemy combatant is invoked avant la lettre to justify its implementation on "insurgent prisoners out of uniform", and notes the identical logic propagated by John Yoo today.<16><18> The now familiar ticking time bomb scenario, as rationale for allowing torture, had its precursor in the Gestapo's "Third degree" measures.<21> According to The Christian Science Monitor:

But while the Nazis' interrogative methods were found to be torture, The New York Times writes that the Allies' methods at the time were far more effective and far less abusive than those the United States uses now.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_interrogation_techniques#Technique_details_under_the_Bush_administration

...How dare they drag the good name of America through the mud of Abu Ghraib.

Or something like that. Anyway, we should all be pissed off that we and the rest of the world have to wonder what we are really doing behind closed doors in secret prisons.

using contractors (mercenaries) to do their interrogations. Are these mercenaries torturing bush's prisoners? I think bush's denials are lies by omission. Maybe our CIA and military may not be torturing now, but the CIA and military are just two government entities that could have taken on the task. Could the FBI, or some other Alphabet organization be the go to guys for torture? Do we have a private, taxpayer supported torture industry?

We need to find out. If we find torture being done on our behalf by government or corporate entities, we should pursue them to the ends of the earth and bring them to justice. If our courts are too corrupt or to cowardly, then let's appeal to the world community.