No more waterboarding - CIA Director John Brennan has explicitly said no to using such form of water torture for interrogation even if the future president orders it.
The United States has been implicated in using different types of "enhanced interrogation techniques," which include waterboarding, for many years, especially with its high-valued detainees like suspected terrorists.
However, President Barack Obama has already banned such practices in 2009 and promoted a more humane treatment of these individuals, something Brennan wishes to obey regardless of who the next president is.
"I will not agree to carry out some of these tactics and techniques I've heard bandied about because this institution needs to endure," he said in an exclusive interview with NBC News.
Also known as simulated drowning, waterboarding entails covering the person's face with a thin cloth as water is poured into the mouth, initiating a gag reflex and breathing difficulty. In some instances, legs are raised as the person lies in a supine position on an inclined platform while simulating drowning without asphyxiation or severe depravation of oxygen.
The torture is meant to extract what could be valuable information against terrorism. However, a 2014 report by the Senate Intelligence Committee revealed that these types of tortures didn't work, which means interrogators weren't able to obtain "actionable" intelligence from suspected terrorists or stopped terrorism plots against the United States.
It also causes long-term physical and mental issues. Waterboarding is painful and can lead to bone fractures as the person tries to free himself from restraints, brain damage due to lack of oxygen supply, damage to the lungs and trauma.
Nevertheless, Republican candidates tend to agree with the practice, which became more common after 9/11.
Donald Trump, who's leading the Republican polls, vows to bring something much worse than waterboarding if he gets elected while, Ted Cruz, who's following Trump closely, is more ambiguous by saying he does not intend to "not bring it back in any sort of widespread use," but doesn't call waterboarding during George W. Bush's administration as torture.
