CIA secret prisons scattered around the world are now empty, and details have emerged about the “torture” methods applied to terrorists and the living conditions:
Some days seemed endless, illuminated around the clock by a pair of 17-watt fluorescent bulbs. White noise from the walkways filtered through the cell walls usually “in the range of 56-58″ decibels, about as loud as people generally talk.
There were touches of CIA hospitality. Prisoners were given books, movies and checkerboards to pass the time. They could hit the gym for exercise, and let their hair grow as long as they liked.
But there were also long stretches designed to break prisoners’ will.
They were stripped, shaved and shoved against walls the moment they arrived. What came next was an escalating menu of interrogation options, culminating in a method used in the Inquisition — waterboarding — to make them think they would drown.
…
The rules for administering such methods were spelled out precisely. Detainees could be kept in a large box for 18 hours a day, but small boxes for only two hours at a time. They could be hosed with water for 15 minutes, but the air temperature had to exceed 65 degrees if they weren’t to be given a towel.The detainee “finds himself in the complete control of Americans,” the memo said. “The procedures he is subjected to are precise, quiet and almost clinical.”
In other words, these terrorists were never in any real threat of endured pain or death. The methods were to make them uncomfortable, shamed, and annoyed. Doctors and psychologists were present to ensure the captives were treated accordingly.
This is far from the typical nail pulling and electric shocking often shown in Hollywood movies about torture. If there’s a proven way to extract valuable information from a naked, embarrassed terrorist living inside a noisy cell with bad lighting, then so be it.
