Torture

I have been thinking about George W Bush's admission that he authorised 3 waterboarding 'events' after he was told by White House lawyers that waterboarding did not constitute torture. A definition of torture states that it involves the action of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment or to force them to do or say something or for the pleasure of the person inflicting the pain. Let us assume that those ordered to carry out the waterboarding were not doing it for their own enjoyment. Let us also assume severe pain means severe physical pain. That then leaves us with the question as to whether or not waterboarding is torture. Does it inflict the severe pain required by the definition? Difficult to say without what those who have suffered waterboarding letting us know how they felt when subjected to the process. We have been informed though that waterboarding invokes a drowning sensation and can cause psychological problems. Its purpose must be to cause extreme anxiety and thus to 'persuade' the victim to give up information in exchange for no more waterboarding. Is extreme anxiety the same as severe pain? If it is then waterboarding is torture whether it causes severe physical pain or not. If it's not then waterboarding is not torture or the definition of torture is inadequate and should be changed to cover psychological torture.