Waterboarded 183 Times in a Month

By BJ Bjornson

This post deserves a great deal of attention.

I've put this detail in a series of posts, but it really deserves a full post. According to the May 30, 2005 Bradbury memo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003 and Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in August 2002.

On page 37 of the OLC memo, in a passage discussing the differences between SERE techniques and the torture used with detainees, the memo explains:

The CIA used the waterboard "at least 83 times during August 2002" in the interrogation of Zubaydah. IG Report at 90, and 183 times during March 2003 in the interrogation of KSM, see id. at 91.

Note, the information comes from the CIA IG report which, in the case of Abu Zubaydah, is based on having viewed the torture tapes as well as other materials. So this is presumably a number that was once backed up by video evidence.

Add this piece of information to Fester's post earlier noting that the best information obtained from Zubaydah preceded his being subjected to these, "enhanced interrogation techniques". What possible purpose outside of revenge and sadism was being served by subjecting these guys to this kind of treatment?

Scott Shane wants to know what the difference between torture and war is. I'd point him to the above if I thought it would help. Given he tries to equate bombing people in Pakistan with torture, and describes one of the techniques in the torture memos as, "essentially what grandma does to a visiting grandchild who misbehaves", I'm fairly certain he's beyond convincing. (As an aside, the reason most of the outrage to these strikes is in Pakistan is because: a) That's where the strikes are occurring, and people are more likely to get upset when they are the target of bombs than when you're on the side of those delivering them, and b) because they also get to see the aftermath of said strikes, while in the US you're lucky if they get more than a quick blurb before the latest American Idol news. Start showing Americans the aftermath of such strikes, particularly all of those that fail to hit their intended target, and people might get much more upset about them.)

For those folks with something resembling a conscience, try to imagine forcing water down someone's throat in a controlled drowning six times a day for a month. Do you like the kind of person you'd be? And what do you think of the kind of people that would order others to do this kind of thing for them?

Comments

[Cheryl Rofer]

Reading 1984 might help in figuring out the distinction between torture and war.