Essay On Waterboarding

When the fate of the United States is in the hand of a terrorist, how else will the military gather intelligence? The use of waterboarding as a form of interrogation gathers intelligence unlike any other form of interrogation, but some Americans view this method as torture; however, this method is very effective. Should the United States government reinstate waterboarding as a form of interrogation? The United States government should reinstate the use of waterboarding as a form of interrogation in the United States. Waterboarding originated in the 14th century and has kept the same concept.

Waterboarding dates back to at least Spanish Inquisition and was used in some of the world’s cruelest dictatorships (Serrano 1). It has kept the same concept for the past five centuries (Weiner 5). There are many different forms of waterboarding but the most common form is immobilizing an individual, tilting one’s head above one’s feet, placing a rag on one’s head, and pouring water on the rag to simulate drowning. Another technique involves dunking an individual head first into water. Both of these methods produce a gag reflex making the individual feel death is near but leaves no changes in the physical

Waterboarding does not inflict physical harm; drowning may be uncomfortable but it is not considered as painful or suffering. Because waterboarding does not inflict physical harm, it cannot inflict mental harm (“Legal Justifications” 2). Since waterboarding does not cause physical or mental harm, an interrogator can claim that he did not specifically intend to harm the prisoner (“Legal Justification” 1). With medical care on stand-by at all times, it is evident that the interrogator does not intend to inflict severe physical pain. If the interrogator does not intend to harm the individual, he has not acted with specific intent which means no laws were broken (“Legal Justification”