In contrast to submerging the head face-forward in water, waterboarding precipitates an almost immediate gag reflex.

Because of water up the nose? I don't gag when that happens.

The technique does not inevitably cause lasting physical damage. It can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage or, if uninterrupted, death.

Extreme pain...water up the nose BURNS. That's all. Damage to lungs...breathing cigarette smoke causes that, much worse than Waterboarding. Is being around a smoker considered torture? I'm sure they don't do it long enough to cause brain damage. And broken bones against restraints? That's the prisoner's fault. And besides, do you realize how hard you would have to fight the restraints to break bones? Psychological damage? How does that disturb your mind enough to cause psychological damage? They must have really weak mids if it does cause that. And by the way, it is interrupted. So, they are careful with it. If uninterrupted, eating can cause death, swimming can cause death, running, cooking, typing, showering, walking, breathing into a bag, breathing helium, etc.

Adverse physical consequences can start manifesting months after the event; psychological effects can last for years.

How do they manifest after months? That makes no sense. It doesn't take months for a bone to break or for brain damage to occur.

As for the psychological effects, it's not like they got raped. They don't sit in corners staring straight ahead with no words because they got water in the face.