Wade
Abbott
Prof.
Brown
Eng.
1B
3-20-13
Essay #2:
Rhetorical Critique Draft
To start things off, I must say that
Christopher Hitchens, a journalist for Vanity Fair, is not only an amazing
author, he is incredibly brave and unique.
The simple fact that he went completely out of his way, to not only
contact doctors, paramedics, and ex-special forces operatives just to undergo
the so-called “torture” of waterboarding for himself is amazing. This is a true example of a journalist doing
what is needed to be done, to gain first hand experience on a topic before just
spewing out his opinions on the subject to us without any real knowledge on the
subject and basing all evidence on the testimony of others. However, despite the great respect and
admiration I hold for Mr. Hitchens, I have to disagree with him when he says,
“If waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as
torture” (Hitchens 2). In this author’s
opinion, waterboarding is not a form of “torture,” rather it is what myself and
countless others would call a form of interrogation. This form of interrogation is a necessity in
our country’s arsenal of weapons that must be used to combat the very real and
everyday threat to countless American’s lives that is posed by these radical
Jihadist terrorists.
Now, proponents of Mr. Hitchens,
most likely loved his first paragraph on page 2 of the article. Like I mentioned earlier, not only do I
greatly respect Mr. Hitchens, I feel I must reiterate what a great and persuasive
author he is. In fact, he most likely
would have persuaded to me to come to the conclusion that waterboarding is
indeed torture, had I not already possessed great concern and opinions on the
issue. In the first paragraph on the
second page of the article, Mr. Hitchens shows the reader his great capacity,
intellect, and pure talent for writing by appealing to the reader’s emotions by
using a Pathos based argument. He tells the reader about his experience
undergoing the “torture” of waterboarding.
In his testimony, he tugs on the reader’s heartstrings by saying, “I
held my breath for a while and then had to exhale and- as you might expect-
inhale in turn. The inhalation brought
the damp cloths tight around my nostrils, as if a huge, wet paw had been
suddenly and annihilatingly clamped over my face” (Hitchens 2). This is a very real and persuasive passage
for the reader, and I am sure that it persuaded many people to Hitchens’
side. I, however, was un-deterred in my
mission to shoot these claims of waterboarding being “torture,” down into a
fiery ball of wreckage. Mr. Hitchens,
despite his natural talent for writing, seems to be making this quite easy for
me. On the second and third pages of his
article, he contradicts himself a number of times. In one passage, on page two, he says, “If
waterboarding does not constitute torture, than there is no such thing as
torture” (Hitchens 2). Then, however, in
the first paragraph of page three, he goes on to say, “When contrasted to
actual torture, waterboarding is more like foreplay” (Hitchens 3). So, despite Mr. Hitchens’ great use of Pathos, which was very, very emotional,
he seems to come off a little amateurish, or “flip-floppy” toward the end of
his essay. I, for one, was not convinced
by his emotional tale of the “torture” he endured. To Mr. Hitchens, I would ask, “So, which is
it, Mr. Hitchens? Is waterboarding
really “torture,” or merely a little “foreplay?
Make up your mind…”
Now obviously, Mr. Hitchens did
undergo the treatment of waterboarding for himself, so every point, or
statement that he makes, does indeed have at least some credibility, or Ethos.
Since he has had firsthand experience in he subject, unlike myself, and
undoubtedly almost all of his readers (let’s be honest, how many Vanity Fair readers have ever been
waterboarded? How many Americans have
ever been waterboarded? Not many.), this
strategy of Ethos that he incorporates does indeed hold some merit. It comes off as pretty credible when he says,
“You may have read by now the official
lie about this treatment, which is that it “simulates” the feeling of drowning.
This is not the case. You feel that you are drowning because you are
drowning—or, rather, being drowned, albeit slowly and under controlled
conditions and at the mercy (or otherwise) of those who are applying the
pressure” (Hitchens 2). This is very
reasonable, logical, and credible to me.
Almost everything he says in this passage makes no less than perfect
sense to me. I mean, sure, obviously the
point of waterboarding is to make one feel like they are drowning, but
when he says that one is truly being drowned, that is where I draw the
line. Now let us look at what he says a
little more closely. In the passage,
Hitchens does not mention the word “pain” one time. To me, and many others, for something to
truly be torture, there should be some form of pain involved, right? On Waterboarding.org, OLC lawyers Jay S.
Bybee and Steven G. Bradbury offer not only the legal justification for
waterboarding, but also the legal definition of the word “torture.” On page 11 of the website, Bybee and Bradbury
inform the reader that “Drowning cannot be described as “physical pain” and
therefore does not cause “pain and suffering” (Waterboarding.org 11). As if that statement were not enough to convince
the reader that waterboarding is not torture due to the fact that there is no
real physical pain involved in the process, they go on to say, ““Suffering”
only occurs for “a protracted period of time,” and the duration of
waterboarding is not “protracted” enough” (Waterboarding.org 11). So, in the end, Hitchens basically describes
the treatment of waterboarding as at most, extremely uncomfortable, NOT
painful. In this author’s opinion, Bybee
and Bradbury only confirm what Hitchens is saying, though I do not think
Hitchens realizes it. Since there is no
real “pain or suffering” involved in waterboarding, it cannot be labeled as a
form of “torture.” I feel that, Hitchens
unwittingly confirms what these two brilliant lawyers are saying… Waterboarding
is not torture.
I will repeat again what I said
already, I feel that Mr. Hitchens is a very talented and gifted writer. I have great respect for this man and greatly
admire the courage and tenacity that was required for this man to accomplish
what he did. However, I am not sure of
what point exactly he is trying to convey to the reader. He seems to contradict himself with his own
statements a number of times in this article, so subtly in fact that I almost
didn’t catch it myself when he did it.
If there is any specific point or claim that I wish for just one reader
of this paper to go home with and understand, it is that waterboarding IS NOT
“torture.” Let us look at this issue
from a very real, serious, and completely logical point of view. These people, these radical Jihadists, hate
America and every single American in the world today with every fiber of their being. Their whole goal in life is to kill us
Americans, even if they have to kill themselves in the process. This is no big deal to these terrorists, for
if they must die in the process of killing infidel Americans, they will be
received in heaven with open arms and 40 virgins! I repeat, these people hate me, they hate
you, and everyone else in this country.
They would kill any of us, including your family and children, without
even thinking twice. So, is it not
logical that we, the United States, do whatever is necessary to stop these
attacks on American citizens from happening?
Just think, if waterboarding were one of the only things standing
between us and an attack by these terrorists, shouldn’t we all be on board with
the idea? If one is still feeling a
little conscientious about the subject, perhaps still not quite convinced that
waterboarding isn’t torture, just look at the legal, actual definition of
torture. Torture involves pain, plain
and simple, and usually involves some sort of permanent damage. There is no pain involved in waterboarding,
and about five to ten minutes after the interrogation, the subject is
completely fine, with no permanent damage.
In this author’s opinion, this is a very cheap price to pay in order to
protect and save the lives of countless Americans all over the
world.
Works Cited
"Believe Me, It’s Torture." Vanity
Fair. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
"Waterboarding.org." Is
Waterboarding Torture? N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.
