George W. Bush revealed in the memoirs of his time as President of the U.S.A. that he authorized the use of waterboarding on three suspected terrorists. And he sticks by his decision to do so, insisting that the practice is not torture.

This video makes me think differently. After hearing descriptions of waterboarding and how cruel and unusual an activity it is I suspected it was torture. And now I know it is.

The man being waterboarded here is Christopher Hitchens, a British journalist and writer with Vanity Fair. A man who can be trusted to give an honest appraisal of the practice after being subjected to it.

There is no doubt in my mind that waterboarding constitutes torture. While no physical harm is done, the mental anguish of believing you are drowning must be intense. If that’s not torture then I defy anyone to explain why it isn’t.