Argumentative Essay On Waterboarding - 1071 Words

Public revelations over the past few years regarding the recent waterboarding of prisoners of war, detainees and enemy combatants by the United States government has garnered much attention and debate. Some of main topics in this on-going debate include: Is waterboarding torture? Is it legal? Is it moral? What are the repercussions and possible reciprocal action of our enemies because of this waterboarding? This paper does not provide an argument for or against water boarding in and of itself but lays out a defense for the legality of waterboarding as was used against Prisoners of War and detainees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This defense is outlined in three phases: defining and describing water boarding; providing an†¦show more content†¦Water is then applied to the cloth †¦[a]s this is done, the cloth is lowered until it covers the nose and mouth. Once the cloth is saturated and completely covers the nose and mouth, air flow is slightly restricted for 20 t o 40 seconds due to the presence of the cloth, stimulat[ing] increased effort to breathe. This effort plus the cloth produces the perception of â€Å"suffocation and incipient panic,† i.e. the perception of drowning †¦ This sensation of drowning is immediately relieved by the removal of the cloth. The procedure may then be repeated.† 20 (emergency presidential power pg 207) Using this definition and procedural descriptions above the next step in determining the legality of water boarding is to define â€Å"legal†. The Oxford English Dictionary defines legal as â€Å"In Law: The system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. 2) According to or concerned with the laws of a country. 3) Permitted by law.† https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/legal (2017, Oxford University Press). The U.S. Government, specifically the CIA, ack nowledged using water boarding in 2003 and 2004. The Central