Here is the most chilling way I can find of stating the matter. Until recently, “waterboarding” was something that Americans did to other Americans. It was inflicted, and endured, by those members of the Special Forces who underwent the advanced form of training known as sere (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape). In these harsh exercises, brave men and women were introduced to the sorts of barbarism that they might expect to meet at the hands of a lawless foe who disregarded the Geneva Conventions. But it was something that Americans were being trained to resist, not to inflict.
Go read it. Now.
Via MySpace Bulletin from Barry Eisler, who wrote:
I'm continually surprised that the waterboarding sequence in Requiem for an Assassin generates the controversy it does, with some readers writing to say they didn't believe Dox's reaction, and others finding the scene *too* realistic.
For what it's worth, like everything else I write, I made the waterboarding scene as realistic as possible. Today I came across an article in the current Vanity Fair by Christopher Hitchens, who volunteered to be waterboarded so he could render a more informed opinion on the practice.
I've seen it demonstrated on video. I'll pass.
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