Torture memos

[Undertoad]

Interrogation techniques approved in 2002 by the Justice Department and detailed in memos released Thursday:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...boarding_N.htm

Attention grasp: "Grasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion."

Walling: A fake, flexible wall is built, and the suspect is pulled forward and "then quickly and firmly" pushed against the wall. "The idea is to create a sound that will make the impact seem far worse than it is."

Facial grasp: "Used to hold the head immobile. One open palm is placed on either side of the individual's face."

Insult slap: "The purpose of the facial slap is to induce shock, surprise and/or humiliation."

Cramped confinement: The suspect is placed in a confined space that "is usually dark." Some spaces allow a subject only to sit down; confinement in those spaces "lasts for no more than two hours."

Wall standing: Subjects are forced to lean with only their fingers for support against a wall 4 to 5 feet away from their bodies in a tactic "used to induce muscle fatigue."

Stress positions: They include "kneeling on the floor while leaning back at a 45-degree angle" and "sitting on the floor with legs extended out in front of him with his arms raised above his head."

Sleep deprivation: This is meant to "reduce the individual's ability to think on his feet and, through the discomfort associated with lack of sleep, to motivate him to cooperate."

Insects placed in a confinement box: The subject is placed in "a cramped confinement box" and told a stinging insect will be placed in the box with him. Instead, a harmless insect, "such as a caterpillar," is placed inside.

Waterboarding: The subject is placed on a board with a cloth covering his nose and mouth. The cloth is saturated with water to simulate drowning. It creates "the perception of 'suffocation and incipient panic.' "

- 28 CIA detainees were subject to some of these methods
- Caution was made that doing them in tandem would be a violation
- They put one guy in a box with a bug
- Sleep deprivation seems the worst to me - could last up to 180 hours

So I guess my question is, waitaminute, WTF? I'd cross off waterboarding and sleep deprivation, but you're not allowed to slap the guy now? Really? This is what it's going to come to? A known terrorist who has good information about other terrorists, and if you slap him you'll be put in jail?

If putting bugs near a guy is torture, I was brutally tortured regularly when I was 10.