Waterboarding Hitchens

Earlier this year, Christopher Hitchens agreed to undergo waterboarding in order to answer for himself the question of whether the process constitutes torture or not. His answer, in this month’s Vanity Fair is non-equivocal: Believe me, it’s torture.

 

Even more harrowing was watching the video of him getting waterboarded, despite the strains of Enigma playing in the background. What astounded me was seeing for myself how little time is required before the victim believes himself or herself to be simultaneously smothered and drowning. Tellingly, Hitchens says that since the experience, he’s had nightmares about it.