[Fr_Chuck]

In fact, yes, most american agents do get waterboarded as part of their training in torture, just as many are set up in very realistic mock kidnapping and being held prisoner often believing their partner or the such has been killed or tortured and so on.

And I think the key word to what was said , was that he would think he was being tortured, and yes it is the idea to give the feeling of torture without real torture. Since it is done without long lasting physcial harm to the person.