Inspired by CIA, ISIS Turns to Waterboarding Detainees

'They Knew Exactly How It Was Done'

New information related to the treatment of ISIS detainees, including the recently executed journalist James Foley, show that the militants have subjected several to torture, or in the parlance of US officials, “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

Indeed, waterboarding seems to be a new tactic of ISIS, and several detainees including Foley were subjected to the simulated drowning tactic which was a favored tactic of the CIA.

“They knew exactly how it was done,” one person reported. It’s unsurprising, as no small number of ISIS fighters are former US detainees, and were doubtless waterboarded themselves in captivity.

For years, it was feared that the use of waterboarding by US forces put Americans abroad at risk of the same treatment. Now, it seems that fear it becoming practice, and when looking for an education on brutal treatment of detainees, ISIS found a perfect template in the US occupation they know all too well.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.