In refusing to reject water boarding George W. Bush links the United States of America with a long history of hundreds of years of torture. Water boarding links the Spanish conquerors of the Americas to the world's leading democracy.
In 1562 Spanish officials at the local level in the Yucatan used torture during an inquisition designed to root out traditional religious practices (or idolatry) among the Maya.
The historian Inga Clendinnen describes what happened in the book, Ambivalent Conquests, Maya and Spaniard in the Yucatan, 1517-1570 (2nd edition), p. 81:
"The victim was secured face up on a wooden frame, and cords were tightened around thighs and upper arms....The victim’s mouth was forced open, and quantities of water were poured in, usually through a cloth to increase the sensation of drowning."
Through his actions and decisions President George W. Bush has disgraced himself and brought deep dishonor upon his administration, and if his policy of condoning torture is not rejected he will bring dishonor upon his country as well.