Out of tune with the American public?
The cynic in me is thinking about where did the poll take place, because I thought that not many people know what waterboarding is. I think it’s better not to think about what it would have meant if the poll had shown the opposite result. However the results are not that encouraging.
Poll results: Waterboarding is torture – cnn.com: A majority of Americans consider waterboarding a form of torture, but some of those say it’s OK for the U.S. government to use the technique, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Sure, as long as it’s being done in secret prisons in foreign countries there’s no problem…
Asked whether they think waterboarding is a form of torture, more than two-thirds of respondents, or 69 percent, said yes; 29 percent said no.
Asked whether they think the U.S. government should be allowed to use the procedure to try to get information from suspected terrorists, 58 percent said no; 40 percent said yes.
In the procedure, water is used on restrained prisoners to make them feel like they are drowning.
For a demonstration of waterboarding, this previous post has a video showing the ‘procedure’ (the video could be upsetting for some of our readers).
The answer of whether it’s torture or not should be asked this way: if your child were captured, would you think it ok for those who captured them to use this technique to get information?
Interrogation stops when you have physical contact with the “suspect”…
now the line is blurry when you get to intimidation, food/water deprivation (after how long is it considered immoral to not give water to a suspect for interrogation)… Besides, anybody would admit to anything after a couple of hours in interrogation room.
But hey, maybe that guy killed hundreds, so he shouldn’t be treated like a human being… Then on the other hand, look at the number of innocent convicts that went thru death row ..
But hey, i’m glad to live in belgium … where the worst thing that could happen to you is take a shower in a police department …(recently a police offer got badly ill after taking a shower, and the place was classified as one of the worst places from a sanitary point of view ^^ )
I am totally comfortable with terror suspects being waterboarded.
#29 – 12–OFTLO==Well, I think you are wrong. Taking a poll on whether or not waterboarding is torture is EXACTLY the best thing polls should be taken on. It goes to policy action to be taken or not. I agree a poll on riding firetrucks on its own is meaningless==but opinion polls on opinion questions is completely valid.
Well… first off… 888 is a troll… fuck him… I got fished in, but I guess we all do from time to time…
My point on the poll is that the average American doesn’t know waterboarding from surfing. Not because they are stupid, but because the average person has no direct experience with it. I don’t ask florists about plumbing or firemen about sailing… We all have a right have an opinion and to express it, but when it comes to making decisions, I would hope that the guesses of the masses are not taken into consideration.
Maybe I’m the last guy in America who admits it, but I value expert opinion over regular Joes bitching from their armchairs… Which why I would stop bitching from my airchair if some military intelligence guys stopped by with a pizza and offered to tell me all about interrogation techniques.
And frankly, this question predates our current mess. We have rules about torture and we should stick with them.
Do people think the Bush administration is breaking the law? Well duh!
The reason water-boarding works isn’t just because it “feels like drowning” – it is exactly like drowning.
If your head is wrapped in towels, and water is poured over you, you can’t breath. If this is done for an extended length of time, you will suffocate and die.
It’s exactly like sticking someone’s head in a bucket of water. Hold it for 30 seconds, and he’s ok. Hold it for 2-3 minutes and he’s dead. Since the victim has no way of knowing if you intend to apply the process for 30 seconds, or 5 minutes, and you repeat it many times, then it’s torture.