Waterboarding

I was under the impression that the United States was still a first world country, indeed a supposed leader to the rest of the world. How can our government still believe that waterboarding is not torture? According to Allen S. Keller, M.D., director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, water-boarding

"…induc[es] a terrifying fear of drowning, [it] clearly can result in immediate and long-term health consequences. As the prisoner gags and chokes, the terror of imminent death is pervasive, with all of the physiologic and psychological responses expected, including an intense stress response, manifested by tachycardia, rapid heart beat and gasping for breath. There is a real risk of death from actually drowning or suffering a heart attack or damage to the lungs from inhalation of water. Long term effects include panic attacks, depression and PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder],"

My ever favorite Wikipedia has a fantastic entry on waterboarding, including a highly educational section on Contemporary use and the United States

In recent events on waterboarding, on February 22, 2008 Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said that "the Justice Department has announced it has launched an investigation of the role of top DOJ officials and staff attorneys in authorizing and/or overseeing the use of waterboarding by U.S. intelligence agencies."

According to Reuters both the House and the Senate approved a bill by February 2008 that would ban waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, but President Bush vetoed the bill on March 8, 2008. It seems unlikely that the bills supporters will be able to gather enough votes to overturn the veto.

This is deeply saddening. Has our President and his "War on Terror" become so out of control that our representatives cannot even stop him from allowing further torture to contine?