Also, I'm not stating it as fact. It's been reported by many veterans including Oliver North.

I meant to frame it as a future lawsuit we'll be paying for.

"Sovereign immunity" vs "Federal Tort"

99.94 was spot on. They're the pitcher and we're the catcher.

[QUOTE=AES;171886]Could one differentiate if they believed they were currently drowning?

Don't misinterpret my post; one must volunteer for this training.[/QUOTE]My personal feeling is that everyone receiving it feels like they are currently drowning and will feel like this even if they understand the process exactly.
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding[/URL]
[QUOTE]Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing the victim on his or her back with the head inclined downwards, and then pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. By forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences drowning and is caused to believe they are about to die.[/QUOTE][QUOTE]In contrast to submerging the head face-forward in water, waterboarding precipitates a gag reflex almost immediately. The technique does not inevitably cause lasting physical damage. It can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage or, ultimately, death.[/QUOTE][QUOTE]In May 2008 the journalist Christopher Hitchens voluntarily experienced waterboarding. He managed to resist for twelve seconds the first time, and, embarrassed at his poor performance, he asked to try again. He then managed to resist for 19 seconds. He later told the BBC: "There is a common misconception that waterboarding simulates the sensation of drowning, but you are to all intents and purposes actually drowning". He said that although he was somewhat prepared for his ordeal, he had not been prepared for what came later: "I have been waking up with sensations of being smothered". Hitchens concluded, "if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture. Believe me. It's torture".[/QUOTE]
So, if after all this gagging and inhaling water and asphyxiating and not knowing if the rag is going to be removed from the mouth to breathe, [I]this time[/I], I find it hard to believe how, even with assurances, in that moment, I wouldn't feel that I was going to die.

While experiencing all this and even if expecting death in those moments of panic, in SERE training perhaps, some part might more easily hold onto the hope or belief that the rag will be come out and the water stop.

[QUOTE=only_human;171901]My personal feeling is that everyone receiving it feels like they are currently drowning and will feel like this even if they understand the process exactly.
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding[/URL]

So, if after all this gagging and inhaling water and asphyxiating and not knowing if the rag is going to be removed from the mouth to breathe, [I]this time[/I], I find it hard to believe how, even with assurances, in that moment, I wouldn't feel that I was going to die.[/QUOTE]

A simultaneous hot dog bite and cigarette stoke made me feel the same way a few weeks ago. I offer no argument.

[quote=garo;168596]But it is not just conservatives. A lot of Democrats are the same. They would recoil in horror at such comparisons.[/quote]Okay. Perhaps living in a heavily-Republican suburb doesn't always get me a balanced perspective. Gotta get out more.