April 20, 2009

Suffering, Redefined

"The waterboard, which inflicts no pain or actual harm whatsoever, does not, in our view inflict 'severe pain or suffering' [prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 2340]... The waterboard is simply a controlled acute episode, lacking the connotation of a protracted period of time generally given to suffering."

The C.I.A. officers used waterboarding at least 83 times in August 2002 against Abu Zubaydah, according to a 2005 Justice Department legal memorandum. Abu Zubaydah has been described as a Qaeda operative.
... The 2005 memo also says that the C.I.A. used waterboarding 183 times in March 2003 against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The fact that Zubaydah and Mohammed inflicted wanton death and countless acts of prolonged suffering on others does not license our use of such medieval tortures.

Posted by Anupam Chander on April 20, 2009 at 09:09 AM | Permalink