This makes me physically ill. And it is from a very reliable source. You should read it. But if you can’t (and believe me I understand) here are the most important facts:

• The media repeatedly describes waterboarding as “simulated drowning.” This is utter bullshit. Waterboarding is controlled drowning. There is nothing “simulated” about it. Your lungs begin to fill with water. The only difference with uncontrolled drowning is that they stop before you actually die. This meets almost every definition of torture on the planet.
• Torture does not work. It does not produce reliable intelligence. People who are tortured will say whatever you want them to say to make the torture stop.
• The use of this technique by Americans will inevitably lead to its use on Americans. So, even if you refuse to believe the straightforward fact that torture does not yield reliable intelligence, perhaps you are still human enough to wish to spare future American soldiers?

I cannot believe that we are having this debate. I cannot believe that our media is so spineless as to let the American people believe that waterboarding is no more uncomfortable than having water poured on your face. That we would subject other human beings to this is an anathema to everything that American stands for. Where are the people of good will who can put an end to this?