Analysis: John Kiriakou Speaks Out on Waterboarding Torture

John Kiriakou, a former CIA agent who participated in the first waterboard interrogation of an al-Qaeda suspect, has now condemned its usage. Kiriakou was stationed in Pakistan from 1998-2004 as an anti-terrorism official and observed many interrogations of suspected al-Qaeda radicals. He claims that the waterboard technique "probably saved lives" but is now condemning the practice as torture. (Washington Post, 12/11/07) Currently, John Kiriakou is a consultant to the Council on Foreign Relations and was a security consultant for the 2007 movie, The Kite Runner.

The 43 year old retired agent was relatively quiet regarding this until the congressional hearings into the CIA's destruction of videotaped interrogations. As an interrogator, Kiriakou claims not to have been aware of actual recordings but says he did know the rooms he used had a closed circuit surveillance network. Kiriakou participated in the interrogations of high value al-Qaeda suspects such as Zayn Abidin Muhammed Hussein abu Zubaida. Abu Zubaida is currently one of the prisoners contesting his detention. He claims that the U. S. destroyed evidence of illegal torture. According to his public statement, CIA director Michael Hayden claims the destruction of the video recordings was done to protect the identities of the agents involved and was sanctioned by the congressional oversight committee. Hayden also said the recording were, "no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries." (www.cia.gov, 12/6/07) Kiriakou claims not to have personally witnessed abu Zubaida's waterboarding but was involved in other interrogations that used it. His comments come just as other top CIA officials are scheduled to speak to the congressional committee on 12/12/07 regarding this instance.

The debate stems from the usage of waterboarding as an interrogation technique. Waterboarding is basically drowning in a controlled environment. The detainee is bound on a board with his feet slightly higher than his head. Cellophane is wrapped over the face and water poured over his head to simulate drowning without actually forcing water into the lungs. Historically, the water was poured directly over the face without hindrance. The gag reflex makes the detainee feel like death is imminent. Because of the cellophane barrier, proponents of waterboarding claim the individual is in no real danger and there are no long effects of the technique. No so, claims Senator John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He was a victim of waterboarding. He described it as "very exquisite torture" and said it should be outlawed. (ABC news, 11/29/05) "Waterboarding is torture, no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank and can damage the subject's psyche in ways that may never heal." (Newsweek, "Torture's Terrible Toll, 11/21/05)

This form of torture has a long history of usage dating back to the 1500's Italian Inquisition. Since then it has been used in almost every major conflict from colonial times to the Vietnam War. It was used in the Algerian War on Henri Alleg in 1957 by French paratroopers. (The Independent, 11/1/07) He described the technique as "the impression of drowning, and a terrible agony, that of death itself, took possession of me. In spite of myself, all the muscles of my body struggled uselessly to save me from suffocation. In spite of myself, the fingers of both my hands shook uncontrollably. 'That's it! He's going to talk,' said a voice."

This form interrogation was found to be extremely effective in obtaining information from al-Qaeda operatives. Once employed, the average time of acquiring information was around 14 seconds. (ABC news) According to Kiriakou, they were able to obtain information from abu Zubaida after 35 seconds of waterboarding. He described abu Zubaida as "ideologically zealous, defiant and uncooperative" and when using the waterboard technique it was like "flipping the switch." (Washington Post, 12/11/07) Because of the quick turn around, the CIA has been able to gather information that saved many lives.

Waterboarding is historically controversial. In 1947, the United States called it a war crime after a Japanese soldier was convicted of waterboarding an American civilian. In 1968, The Washington Post ran a front page photograph of American soldiers using a crude form of waterboarding on a North Vietnamese soldier. That picture reportedly led to an investigation by the Army and a court martial for the young soldier who performed the waterboarding. (Washington Post, 10/5/06)

Torture is defined in the federal criminal code as, "the intentional infliction of severe mental pain or suffering. That would include waterboarding" according to John Sifton, an attorney with the Human Rights Watch. In November of 2005, former CIA director, Porter Goss, claimed the CIA did not inflict pain on prisoners. When asked specifically about whether waterboarding was torture by Charles Gibson on ABC news, Goss claims "I don't know." (ABC news, 11/29/05)