WINNIPEG–A declassified CIA memo suggests the spy agency consulted research by two Canadians when developing standards for an interrogation tactic called "water dousing."
Gordon Giesbrecht, a University of Winnipeg professor known locally as "Professor Popsicle," said he only recently found out a chapter highlighting his research on cold-water immersion in the book Wilderness Medicine is one of two Canadian sources listed in the 2005 memo.
Water dousing involves exposing alleged terrorists to cold water for extended periods. It is one of 20 CIA-sanctioned interrogation techniques that can be used on a detainee to "maximize his feeling of vulnerability and helplessness, and reduce or eliminate his will to resist our efforts to obtain critical intelligence," the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency memo states.
The reference to Giesbrecht's book chapter is found in the memo's appendix, which lists the medical limits for each technique.
"That's an unfortunate use of the information, because there's no question – we have the ability to be very, very uncomfortable for a very, very long time (in cold water) with no medical problem. And it's untraceable too." Giesbrecht said yesterday.
The reference notes that water dousing should be stopped if the detainee is showing signs of hypothermia, and that "death can result from prolonged (i.e., six hours) exposure to 15 C water, two hours at 10 C, 1 hour at 5 C."
Those numbers are from a Transport Canada report Survival In Cold Water, which is also listed as a reference. Chris Brooks of Kanata, Ont., wrote the manual years ago to try to improve the odds of sailors and fishermen lost at sea.
Brooks told a newspaper that he was "flabbergasted" his work was used by the CIA.
A second top-secret CIA memo, which was also declassified this week, states that water dousing should not last more than 20 minutes when the interrogators are using 5 C water. That limit is raised to 40 minutes for 10 C water, and 60 minutes for 15 C water.
"These standards are derived from submersion studies, and represent two-thirds of the time at which hypothermia is likely to develop in healthy individuals submerged in water, wearing light clothing," the memo reads.
Giesbrecht said what upsets him most is evidence that water dousing was actually used on people.
He pointed to a report from the International Committee of the Red Cross that suggests at least seven detainees encountered the tactic – usually by having cold water poured on them, though three claimed they were immersed.
"We jokingly refer to some of our studies as being torturous, and do it in a joking manner because people can always get out of it.
"I guess when you move that into a scenario where you don't have the chance to get out, it would certainly stick it in that category (of torture)," he said.
"Being on the memo isn't as upsetting as knowing they were doing this kind of stuff."
He added he could only recall three occasions during the hundreds of water immersion studies he's conducted where someone has asked to end the experiment early.
"I'm already unimpressed by the fact that waterboarding and things like that are being done. Now this just falls under the same category for me."
