Let's get clear what we are talking about. The CIA's version requires a doctor to monitor the oxygen level in the blood to make sure they're brought to the very edge of death before flipping them upright and allowing them to breath. Rinse and repeat 183 times. If that isn't torture, what is? Somehow....I suspect you would agree with me if that happened to you.
Let me also note that the use of waterboarding has not been limited to foreigners. It was used on an American citizen. Ronald Reagan prosecuted a Texas sheriff for doing the same.
Again, why do you want to give the likes of Obama this incredible power? Perhaps you should skip watching the next episode of "24" and take some time to read what Lord Acton said about power instead. You might learn something about human nature and governments.
“So is it just a matter of degree then? IMHO, Torture is torture. Christopher Hitchens was right when he used the word torture after he underwent a relatively mild form of waterboarding.”
This is torture:
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7407186