Hello? Water Boarding is Torture

I'm just amazed at the debate about whether Water Boarding is torture.
John McCain (a republican) certainly says it is and he was tortured by the Japanese during WWII (I heard it on the radio but I'm sure there are a ton of references on it.)

I've never been water boarded but I have had the experience of having an ocean wave go shooting up my nose, aspirating just a little of the water. The deep seated primal fear that that evokes is huge. Even though I was fine I had to get out of the water and onto ground for a little while just to reorient. Deliberated placing someone in that position and forcing them to stay there is patently cruel.

When I was in high school we took it as a point of American pride that we didn't torture, that we didn't start wars, that we were the good guys with principals. Ever since WWII that image and ideal has progressively eroded. Starting with Vietnam and Korea and now reaching appallingly new lows with Iraq, it's no wonder that the world hates us.

I can only hope that we can rebuild our tarnished image. When I travel, I don't lie and say I'm Canadian, but if someone asks if I'm an American I say "I'm from San Francisco" which says so much in 4 words about how I really despise what BushCo has done. I think, heck with impeachment, he and his cronies should be tried for war crimes and murder.