WATERBOARDING?

You’ve got to respect Senator John McCain’s take on torture. He and all the other Nam-era POWs went through the wringer and then some. I’ve been to the Hoa Lo Prison (the infamous Hanoi Hilton) so I find it difficult — at best — to disagree with him or any other POW’s stance on interrogation and torture.

No, it’s not something civilized people should have to do, but sometimes … well, I’m sorry, but sometimes you need to find things out and politely asking questions just won’t cut it.

As for the big ado about what is for some reason now called waterboarding.

I’ve been subject to this particular brand of torture, and even though it was done as a sort of “introduction” to the finer arts of what one can expect if captured — in other words, mentally you knew, or at least were pretty sure, you weren’t going to die — it ain’t fun.

Next time you’re in your shower, put a wet face rag tightly over your mouth and nose and try to breathe. Then let the water run over it and try to breathe. That’s pretty much what “waterboarding” feels like. Not fun, you DO feel like you’re drowning (I’ve been — unfortunately — close to that sensation as well), and if your hands are tied and you’re blindfolded … well, you’ll be pretty anxious to end the session as soon as possible. (Remember, that in most cases, our POWs in Nam were being tortured for the sake of being tortured, not for information.)

But if you need to know something that may save lives, well … it’s not exactly as if our enemy in the war on terror are uniformed combatants. They’re cowards who dress as civilians, and use civilians as cover, soooo ….

Do we have a responsibility to ensure that rampant S&M doesn’t take place against enemy personnel ? Certainly. Should we take a higher moral plane (nice pun!) than the enemy? That’s an ethical question that begs to be described as “situational ethics” in my opinion.

War is war and it sucks no matter the reason for it. While it brings out the best in men, it also brings out that dormant primitive savagery that resides in the protoreptilian knob on the tops of all our spines. It’s the good, the bad and the ugly.

I’d also like to add that I’d be willing to bet large sums of money that any inmate of a facility such as Lompoc, Attica, etc., would be more than willing to change places with any resident of places like Gitmo or Abu Grahib … in a heartbeat.