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How Did Christopher Hitchens Believe Me It's Torture

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Has anyone ever heard of something extremely dangerous and life-threatening and thought that, “Hey, let’s try that!”? Would they still want to try it if they knew it was a form of torment? Christopher Hitchens decides to endure a torture technique called “waterboarding” to learn more of its use among Americans. In Hitchens’s Believe Me, It’s Torture, he describes his experience enduring “waterboarding” to discourage use of it in America with use of the persuasive techniques ethos and logos.
As any curious American would, Hitchens decided the best way to learn about “waterboarding” was to experience it. Waterboarding is a form of torture used during interrogations in which a person is strapped down onto a sloping board with a cloth covering …show more content…

Not only did Hitchens attempt waterboarding once, but he tried it again in order to better resist and to better understand the tactic. In the first attempt, Hitchens was caught off guard and panicked, which caused him to use the prearranged signal to end the torture. He was disappointed in the amount of time he lasted. Because of this and what he read on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (he was able to last two minutes on the table) he decided to attempt it again. During the second experience, his time of the board lasted longer. Because of this, he felt pressure on his solar plexus, which he learned was someone testing to see if he was timing his breathing or someway found a cheat. One can infer that he was able to better his first time …show more content…

Malcolm Nance, has personally experienced waterboarding and uses ethos and logos to emphasize his experiences. From his experiences in the military, Nance, who was at the Pentagon during the 9/11 attacks and has been part of the SERE program since 1997, has come to several conclusions as to why waterboarding is ethically and logically wrong. His reasons include that, logically, waterboarding is a form of torture used intentionally. They allow use of it on their enemies; but despite it being controversial, America’s judicial system has persecuted outsiders who have used it against Americans. It is also used as an unethical way to obtain information from enemy prisoners of wars, but that does not always guarantee that all of the information is of any use and or reliable. Finally, the use of waterboarding does not guarantee that they will receive any information on whom the waterboarding is being used and that may not be helpful in those in charge are in a time constraint. Nance highly doubts that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was able to last two minutes enduring waterboarding

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