what is torture?

It is going to vary greatly depending on one's personal tolerence to pain, emotional stress, psychological manipulation, etc. One man's torture is another man's test of strength. Let me address water boarding first. Having been through this myself, I will assert it is NOT torture. It is more a hazing stunt. A bunch of friends of mine and I, durring an evening of testosterone fueled drunken foolery, all did this too each other. Even with diminished mental capacity, it wasn't torture, it wasn't pleasant, but hardly torture. If things like this are being considered torture by terrorists, then they don't make terrorists like they used to. These people train to take far more than this and are mentaly capable and willing to inflict far more on those of us they capture. Some things I consider torture would be, pulling of fingernails, shoving things under fingernails, electric shock, burning of various body parts, physical closed fist beatings and kicking, starvation, forced dehydration......and beheading a captive with a serated knife, videotaping it and sending it to Al-Jazere to air for the family of the captive to have to witness, as a parent, I can't imagine any higher or more insideous form of torture than the last one I mentioned.

Well I stand by the legal definition. I don't have time to dig it up right now, but the US legal definition is similar to the UN definition posted above me. The bigger issue becomes how someone defines parts of the definition. For example it says "severe". I don't consider being slapped across the face severe, others do. I don't consider being placed in a cell with a caterpillar severe. In fact, I'd make it a pet and give it a name. My sis-in-law however is so afraid of caterpillars that she calls them "c-words" and has been known to cry at the mention of them. If they blasted Nine Inch Nails into my cell, I'd be rocking, but terrorists from countries where music is outlawed apparently can't handle it. Physically severe isn't hard to define since there can be visible damage that is consistent regardless of the person involved. When you get into mental suffering though, it's extremely difficult to make a call that's good for everyone. I've heard many military, and non-military say that waterboarding is not torture. I've also heard Jesse Ventura, a former Navy SEAL say it is.

I think torture is any act or actions that can bring about acute discomfort to any creature - physical, mental or emotional. The 'tenure' of the torture could be short-a single application or consistent/constant. After entering the above definition, I did a check on Wikipedia and my definition seems broader than what the UN Convention against torture says. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture) QUOTE any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanctions. —UN Convention Against Torture UNQUOTE People may torture other creatures just because they enjoy the watching the pain that makes others suffer, and hence may impart or be instrumental in giving pain to others. That too is torture. I feel that the UN definition is a limited one.

I'm not sure since I'm a spoiled pampered American.