According to a poll made by the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. over this weekend shows that a majority of the Americans consider waterboarding as a form of torture. Others say that they think it is alright for the government to use it as a way of getting information.

Almost 69 percent of the Americans interviewed responded that waterboarding is a form of torture while 29 percent said no, they don’t think that.

When asked if it should be allowed for the government to use it as a technique to get information, 58 percent of them said no, and 40 percent said yes.

The technique implies controlled drowning of restrained prisoners sitting on their backs, head inclined downward and water being poured over their face in order to force inhalation into the lungs.

Attorney nominee Michael Mukasey, said that he won’t reject the practice, thus making an issue out of it.

Last week he told the Senate Judiciary Committee that personally he thinks that waterboarding is “repugnant” and could not say if the technique could be a form of torture.

His statements regarding waterboarding and the president’s power to order electronic surveillance without any warrant drew many reactions from the senators and put his nomination into doubt.  

Still his confirmation was assured when two Democratic senators said last week that they will vote for him despite the controversy raised around him.

Mukasey was nominated by Bush in order to replace Alberto Gonzales, who resigned in September.

According to sources that know the CIA interrogation program said that waterboarding is not used as a technique in interrogations. Still the sources said that it has been used when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was interrogated, who now faces a trail before a military tribunal for al Qaeda’s 2001 attacks on 11 September.

The poll was made by the phone on 1,024 Americans.

Because of his opinion a group of former spies and generals urged for Mukasey’s nomination to be rejected.

Two dozen letters were sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee which is going to vote today Mukasey’s nomination.