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The CIA may use waterboarding on Al-Qaeda, but the simple truth is torture does not work MICHAEL BURLEIGH Like falling, drowning is one of mankind's primal fears. It is the basic principle behind the torture technique called "waterboarding", pioneered in the Dutch East Indies in the 16th century. More recently, it was used by the wartime Gestapo and the Japanese military police - one of whom was sentenced to 15 years for doing this to a U.S. prisoner of war - as well as by French interrogators during the bloody 1954-1962 Algerian War. Ironically, many of these French torturers were multi-decorated veterans of the wartime Resistance who had themselves been tortured by the Gestapo. First, let's deal with the grim practicalities of waterboarding.
The objects of interrogation are strapped to a board and turned upside down as water is streamed over a cloth wrapped around or inserted into their mouths. The effect is akin to gagging when you try to avoid choking to death on a piece of food, and it rapidly induces the most extreme panic in those subjected to it. Supporters of the technique say it does no long-term damage to the human body; opponents claim it damages the lungs and brain while wrists and ankles can fracture as the victim struggles to break free. CIA sources say the practice has saved lives. Former CIA officer John Kiriakou claims waterboarding has been used on three high-value Al Qaeda suspects including Abu Zubaida and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, respectively a senior trainer of jihadist terrorists and the mastermind behind the mass murders of 9/11. Although Kiriakou left the agency three years ago, and relies on hearsay from his former colleagues, he claims that both men 'broke' in a few minutes, which is longer than the 14 seconds CIA men averaged when they researched the technique on themselves. It is clear that the CIA and other intelligence agencies use a spectrum of interrogation techniques, running from severe to relatively mild, and that what constitutes torture is a matter of dispute.
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