Waterboarding: a form of interrogation in which guards press a rag or plastic material over a prisoner's face while interrogators pour cold water over him. This produces the impression of drowning and "causes severe physical suffering in the form of reflexive chocking, gagging, and the feeling of suffocation. If uninterrupted, waterboarding will cause death by suffocation," according to more than 100 U.S. law professors in a letter to previous Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. This form of torture still remains in practice as an "enhanced" interrogation technique today. Does America really want to be known as the nation that fights terrorism with terror tactics?

The legality of this controversial interrogation practice is currently being debated among the different branches of government, and Attorney General Michael Mukasey, whose nomination by the president was confirmed by Congress, has not definitively declared his views on whether or not waterboarding constitutes torture. This absence of a decision bought him enough time to be sworn in without having to make a change to the current interrogation laws.

"It is not constitutional for the United States to engage in torture in any form," Mukasey said, but because the attorney general has the right to determine what constitutes torture, he can give the Bush administration clearance to engage in illegal interrogation practices as long as he does not deem them torture. "The founding fathers specifically wrote our constitution in a way that gave Congress the most power, and having the attorney general determine what is considered torture is just another way for the president to gain more control," said senior Adam Horowitz.

When asked by Congress during a Senate Judiciary Committee if he considers waterboarding torture, Mukasey stated he wasn't familiar with the technique ( The New York Times ). The interrogation practice has been hotly contested among Washington Politicians and Congressmen over the past couple months with discussions going back into the term of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. The CIA has even taken the technique off its list of approved interrogation techniques. With so much information and so much debate on the issue of waterboarding, how can it be that Attorney General Michael Mukasey still finds himself unfamiliar with the practice?

Even with the legality of torture practices being contested, many professional interrogators believe that confessions obtained under torture are too unreliable. "It is bad interrogation; you can get anyone to confess to anything if the torture's bad enough," said former CIA officer Bob Baer in an interview by ABC News . Many interrogators believe in most situations building a relationship of trust and respect can be more effective than attempting to extract quick confessions.

The laws concerning torture may not affect the daily lives of all Americans, but the moral issues that these inhumane practices raise do. As Americans and, most important, as people we must denounce the horrible practice of torture, and Mukasey's undeclared opinion on waterboarding is an injustice to the people of the United States. We must support candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who stated they would not vote for Mukasey if does not declare the practice of waterboarding illegal. In this way we as citizens can fight to stop the horrendous practice our current administration calls "enhanced" interrogation. As junior Michelle Carroll said, "America's use of 'enhanced' interrogation is a disgrace to our nation. By using torture, we are tarnishing 200 years of international integrity."