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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?
Andrew Richman of Hanover, N.H., asks:
Has there been any scientific studies of the efficacy of waterboarding specifically or torture in general in getting accurate information? Throughout this debate all I hear are individual opinions from experiences.
ANSWERS
Malcolm Nance responds:
Malcolm Nance responds:

If there are, they are classified, but the distilled unclassified answer has a single answer: Torture is unreliable. That's the official U.S. government policy based on two centuries of captivity studies.

Neil Livingstone responds:
Neil Livingstone responds:

I am unaware of any real study regarding waterboarding, but discussions with a wide range of individuals suggest different success rates. Certainly, there is a belief that it was very helpful in the interrogation of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Next Question and Answer
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