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REGION: North America
TOPIC: Law
Online NewsHour
FORUM
Posted: November 14, 2007

Ask Questions on Waterboarding

 Forum Introduction
Interrogation room The interrogation tactic known as waterboarding, or simulated drowning, has grabbed headlines in recent weeks and stirred legal and ethical debates. Malcolm Nance, a former Navy Seals instructor and Neil Livingstone, CEO of Executive Action, answered your questions on the controversial technique.
QUESTIONS
Hasn't torture historically provoked anger?
How should the U.S. respond if our service-members were subjected to waterboarding?
Have pop culture's depictions of torture influenced our view of it?
Isn't it better to have information even if it came from duress?
What is the difference between imitation torture and actual torture?
Have there been any studies on the efficacy of waterboarding to get information?
Why is waterboarding being employed now when we have faced greater threats in the past?
Are there any non-coercive means of gaining information?
Robert "Bob" Smith of New York, N.Y., asks:
Is there any meaningful distinction between cruel and inhuman treatment and the merely simulated sensation of degredation? In short, what is the difference between imitation torture and actual torture?
ANSWERS
Neil Livingstone responds:
Neil Livingstone responds:

The difference between actual and simulated torture is that simulated torture is unlikely to have a lasting or debilitating effect on the subject, not that I am necessarily recommending this.

Malcolm Nance responds:
Malcolm Nance responds:

There is no simulation involved in any of our methods. Military students get real stress and duress in a simulated enemy prison in order to get them to practice resistance. Al Qaeda captives get real stress and duress in a real prison with the intent to "beat" the answers out of them. Big difference.

Next Question and Answer
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