The art of water boarding

“In my dungeon even the pope himself would confess, that he is a witch!”
-A German inquisitor during the time of the witch trials

Well, I have to admit, when I first came across the term “water boarding” it conjured in my rather naive mind images of white beaches and sun tanned, healthy bodies gliding on surf boards along the foamy crests of breaking waves.

Even within the respectable Oxford English Minidictionary, which is always by my side while I am writing, I was not able to find any information about the term. There is simply nothing between “water bed” and “water cannon”.

Yet I soon found out it is an inquisitive technique for the purpose of interrogation. That means: getting information out of a suspect, who is reluctant to part with it. I learned also that the method is not new at all. Accounts of it’s usage date back to the time of the Spanish Inquisition under the (in)famous Inquisitor Tomas De Torquemada. At that time it was used to extract confessions from suspected heretics and witches with the holy purpose of destroying their sinful bodies by burning them on the stake and so to send their hereby liberated souls for further torment to hell.

Let us now have a thorough, inquisitive look at the method itself.

It is of course my duty here, before we proceed with graphic details and gory descriptions, to give a warning to immature readers of all ages and equally towards those with sensitive nerves and impressive minds, that they may continue their lecture here only at their own risk of nightmarish and disrupted sleep.

Water boarding (For Beginners):
The person (from whom we desire to extract any kind of truth) has to be tied down on a kind of plank or board. The position should be so, that the person is not able to move hands and legs. There has to be special care for the immovability of the head. The board has to be placed into a position so that the feet of the person are elevated; this means for clarity: the head has to be in a deeper position than the feet.

The person is now ready for interrogation!

In the next step a moist piece of cloth is spread across the face. It is very important to cover the mouth and the nostrils at the same time. The purpose of the moist cloth is, of course, to make the process of breathing a little difficult (to say the least). As we are mammals (even so-called higher mammals, to be precise), so we depend on steady supply of fresh air. Suspension and interruption of this supply leads to uncomfortable feelings (depending on the time frame of suspension of air supply).

We do not want the person in question to suffocate, we rather want him or her to talk to us. Always remember, we are talking here about a method of interrogation for the sake of divining truth.

It is very important to lift the moist cloth from time to time with the purpose of giving time to breath and talk. It is equally important to keep the cloth from getting dry. Anybody can breath with ease through a dry cloth, so we will have to keep it moist by pouring water on it at regular intervals.

Effects Of Water Boarding:
Depending on the duration of the process the victim will have a more or less intense feeling of slow, dry drowning. In addition to the above bondage the victim will be mostly blind folded and totally at the mercy of the torturers. Prolonged gag reflexes will set in almost immediately with the first pouring of water. Intense feelings of pain will slowly spread across the chest, the lungs and the whole body will erupt with spasmodic seizures.

In a historical book written by a monk as an eyewitness, I read a description of this torture applied to a young Spanish woman.

In this case, the water torture was combined with a system of bondage, which prevented the victim from slipping into the oblivion of unconsciousness. For this purpose, ropes were tightly fixed around the arms and legs and in certain intervals tightened, so that the pain kept the victim in full awareness. The torturers had to weave a steady rhythm of loosening and tightening of the ropes and the application of water.

I shall never forget the vivid picture the monk painted in my imagination: the pale body of the woman surrounded by the black hooded interrogators, the spasms which shook her, the tiny rivulets of blood running down from her arms and legs, the coarse and labored breathing…

Advantages Of Water Boarding:
Compared with many other tortures, it leaves no marks on the victims body, while at the same time exposing the victim to the same kind of intense discomfort that can be derived from the more cruder forms of torture.

It is also cheap. Torture with electricity, for example, is much more expensive. Continue reading on page 2.

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