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My Unstable Mind | May 3rd, 2011 | Mariner

[Mariner]

With all the renewed talk about waterboarding I thought it would be a good thing to open a thread where folks who have been waterboarded can sign and leave their comments for posterity.

The rest of the Freepers can thank us for our service and sacrifice in perfecting this effective non-torture technique.

And, there is not one person who has administered a session that has not themselves been "on the board".

[Mariner]

Please make your claim and state whether you believe it's torture. Also, do you believe it to be effective in getting somebody to tell everything they know?

[Mariner]

War Criminal #18 first to sign in.

[Semper911]

So, how about you start us off. Have you been on the board?

I saw a fake waterboarding on a teevee show (Prison Break), and I was surprised that the victim’s face was covered with saran wrap.

I guess I really don’t get the whole concept, except that it is supposed to make you feel like you are drowning when you really aren’t.

So tell us what you know about it.

[kenavi]

A neighbor of my wife's family, as a young man.

Became a doctor with a successful practice, lived past 90. Tragically hurt in a taxi accident, lingered months in pain before passing away.

[jessduntno]

My brother was boarded before going on an extended tour of Asia in the sixties...said he wouldn’t want it to be a daily practice, but it didn’t kill him. He was like that though. Never could talk about what he was doing, just doing his job.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I was in Army Intelligence for six years and later with another agency. What do you think?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Not a waterboarder or boardee, but I bet OBL wishes that’s all that happened to him.

[antiRepublicrat]

That would be anybody who went to SERE. Probably quite a few here.

IMHO, if there’s no permanent physical injury, it’s not torture. Otherwise we’re arguing a sliding scale with nicely asking questions at one end, a standard (and legal) police interrogation further up, and so on. Anyone can define any point on that scale as being torture, and nobody’s opinion will have anymore validity than anybody else’s. A bleeding heart lib will say you frowned at him, so that’s torture, whereas a Mossad operator will probably have a much higher threshold.

[grobdriver]

P-3 Aircrew Cold War Warrior here, water-boarded twice in SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Excape).
Has to be the closest thing to drowning I've ever been, but after the training talked to the Navy Corpsman who's part of the routine it is to help "hold me down" - except he was checking my pulse rate throughout.

I spoofed them the second time and faked choking - they let me up.

Warner Springs in October. Brrrrr!

[Salvavida]

Graduate of the USN Law of War course.

It’s not against the law because “torture” was defined as.......”physical bodily harm or death”. That was tied to US code. Therefore, it didn’t meet the threshold.

Furthermore, the articles governing the Treatment of POWs in the Third Convention of the Geneva Conventions was written in a time to deal with the atrocities following WWII (it was written in 1949).

Absent from the discussion is the FACT that terrorists, or any other entity not following the Law of War, is not given POW protection afforded by the Geneva Conventions.

But that (withdrawing of GC protections) has to be determined by a competent military tribunal....and that has not been the case: and this is where the Pentagon has dropped the ball.

Sir, War Criminal #41, sir.

[ricmc2175]

Waterboarded at Huachuca. Still have trouble swimming with my face down in the water. But then, I was crazy before the Army.

[magslinger]

SONOBUOY PING!

I did not attend SERE School, but perhaps some of you who have would want to weigh in?

Click on pic for past Navair pings.

Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
The only requirement for inclusion in the Navair Pinglist is an interest in Naval Aviation.
This is a medium to low volume pinglist.

[Bringbackthedraft]

E&E Course, back then as a 1st Lt..

[Mariner]

I was strapped to a 3/4 plywood board using aircraft strappings at the ankles, knees, hips, chest and wrists.

A very large beach towel was folded and soaked in a bucket of water and then held VERY firmly over my face.

Then a water hose was draining over the towel.

The whole time I was never asked a question. They asked questions of the Lt1 who was forced to watch all the while them threatening to kill me.

I had never even heard of the waterboard before and had just spent 8 days in the wilderness with nothing to eat.

They told me when it was over "I bet THAT was the longest 5 minutes of your life. I was "submerged" 6 times in the 5 min period...with about 10secs between each.

[Mariner]

So yes, I lasted over twice as long as KSM.

He's a pu$$y.

[Mariner]

"Warner Springs in October."

Sucks in June too.

[bigbob]

Great thread, Mariner. Thanks to all you guys who trained hard to do the hard jobs.

[Mariner]

"Great thread, Mariner. Thanks to all you guys who trained hard to do the hard jobs."

Yeah, but the admin mod too it out of breaking news (technically not breaking news) and therefore SUBSTANTIALLY reduced it's visibility for the dozens, if not hundreds of "boardees" (or, if you prefer, those who proudly remember the War Criminal Number).

So I'm asking them again, please put this in Breaking News for a day so that the some of our fellow heroes can be recognized.

[Mariner]

"Torture is the deliberate infliction of suffering - of any kind - to achieve a certain purpose, usually information.

Period.

So, it YOUR contention the the US Military deliberately TORTURED thousands of it's best and brightest!?!?!?

Really?

Or, how about those 40 mile forced marches with full packs endured by MILLIONS? Was that torture too?