I just read a really eye-opening blogpost. I got wind of it from a Digg commenter, who called it "the post that changed me from a fence-sitter" on waterboarding. Now I know why.
It was posted in 2007 by a guy who prides himself on his physical health, his toughness, and his ability to withstand pain. He once swam without breathing for over 4 minutes -- until he passed out, so he could find out what his limits were. He is an ultramarathoner.
He wanted to find out how bad waterboarding is, so he researched it and then waterboarded himself 3 times. Yes, you read right, he waterboarded himself. Covered his own mouth, poured the water himself -- from a watering can, no less.
The first time, with the "basic" technique, he found a way to breathe and expel water. All was well. Then he went to the "wet rag over the mouth" method. More difficult, our subject thought, but still do-able. It's still not torture.
But then . . . then he went to the Saran wrap, and all bets were off. Jump with me for an account by a man who is not accustomed to fear as he discovers the limits of his own strength and courage.
Now, those of you who know me will know that I am both enamored of my own toughness and prone to hyperbole. The former, I feel that I am justifiably proud of. The latter may be a truth in many cases, but this is the simple fact:
It took me ten minutes to recover my senses once I tried this. I was shuddering in a corner, convinced I narrowly escaped killing myself.
Link to entire post on straightdope.com.
What was most horrifying to the poster, whose handle is Scylla, was the complete loss of control that he believes is hardwired in our brains once we start to draw water into our lungs:
I have never been more panicked in my whole life. Once your lungs are empty and collapsed and they start to draw fluid it is simply all over. You know you are dead and it's too late. Involuntary and total panic.
There is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It would be like telling you not to blink while I stuck a hot needle in your eye.
At the time my lungs emptied and I began to draw water, I would have sold my children to escape.
Why did Erich "Mancow" Muller last just 6 seconds? Why did Christopher Hitchens last maybe 10 seconds? Why is 14 seconds the average for the military tough-guys who undergo this "technique" during their training?
Why did Dick Cheney insist on waterboarding as the torture of choice for those from whom he wanted to extract false admissions?
I never felt anything like it, and this was self-inflicted with a watering can, where I was in total control and never in any danger.
And I understood.
Waterboarding gets you to the point where you draw water up your respiratory tract triggering the drowning reflex. Once that happens, it's all over. . . .
If I had the choice of being waterboarded by a third party or having my fingers smashed one at a time by a sledgehammer, I'd take the fingers, no question.
The very next thing you should do after reading this diary is to go to the link and read the whole post, together with all the responses. It is absolutely worth the time. It was extremely difficult trying to keep this diary in the neighborhood of the Fair Use copyright law. There was so much more I wanted to quote.