Torture Loophole: 'Water Treatment' Versus Waterboarding

Torture Loophole: 'Water Treatment' Versus Waterboarding

In February, CIA Director Michael Hayden confirmed that his agency used waterboarding on three al Qaeda suspects. But revelations from a former detainee in a hearing yesterday raise questions as to whether the administration has been playing word games with its definition of "waterboarding."

Murat Kurnaz, "freed from Guantanamo in 2006 after a personal plea from German Chancellor Angela Merkel," detailed the gross abuses he underwent in U.S. custody yesterday. Kurnaz said he was subjected to "water treatment" which involved a "strong punch" that forced him to inhale water. Asked if this was waterboarding, Kurnaz said "water treatment" is different:

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