Four Western hostages held by the Islamic State in Syria were reportedly subjected to waterboarding, a key Bush-era torture method that simulates drowning. The Washington Post reports the hostages were waterboarded “several times” early in their captivity, including the murdered American journalist James Foley. The ISIL waterboarding was apparently modeled on the CIA’s use of it to interrogate prisoners following 9/11. President Obama banned waterboarding upon taking office in 2009 and recently described it as torture.