Waterboard Chetly

Chetly Zarko Says Waterboarding Isn't Torture

My challenge to Chetly made the front page of the Oakland Press - 5/13/09 
Click here to read the story.

UPDATE 3 5/15/09:  Now Chetly has some new conditions.  He wants to choose the person doing the waterboarding, even though I've given him the option to interview the people I've found that have come forward.  Then this latest excuse.  He's just too busy.   Also, he has to think about the terms.  You know what Chetly, the people we tortured in Iraq didn't get to think about the terms or who it was that was doing the waterboarding or liability policies.  

I will take your "too busy" excuse as your admission that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney conspired to commit a war crime.  They carried out torture on prisoners held in our custody and that you are scared shitless to really be waterboarded.

FROM CHETLY'S WEB SITE, OAKLANDPOLITICS.COM

 "Bruce, the daily chatter can stop (0.00 / 0)

This incessant daily chatter can stop.  I have a serious life and work that occupies me far more than full-time.  Your challenge is not my priority, its not something that needs to be done next week, and I'm not rushing around to satisfy your morbid desires.

So we're not wasting time, I'll lay out one final set of possible terms before I start any search, and, as I said, I have to have time to think about what's appropriate and my time is only on weekends (and there's no guarantee on which - I have my mother traveling into town this weekend and she's a priority over you by about a factor of 1 with a number of zeroes behind it that you can't measure.

Before you say "terms keep changing" - you are the one who changed them first from your first offer, and frankly, the issue is too important to not have fair and well-defined terms."

 

UPDATE 2:  I now have an EMT that will agree to attend.  I'm working on the liability policy.  I also have had contact with a second qualified waterboarder who actually performed waterboarding at Guantanamo.  I'm sure Chetly will find him qualified also.  

UPDATE:  As of this afternoon, I have a waterboarder who has performed waterboarding in the past and worked in facilities run by the CIA.  I think Chetly should get his own doctor, since he is quite obese and may have medical conditions that a stranger doctor would not be aware of.

As far as a liability policy, I don't know of any insurance agency that will issue an insurance policy for this type of activity.  But why do we need insurance, Chetly?  This is just pouring a little water on your face.  So, if you can get your doctor to agree to be presesnt and you are willing to waive the liability insurance, since this is such a minor procedure, we're ready to go.  You can give me a few dates you're available and I will try to arrange it with the waterboarder.

Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair took on the waterboarding challenge under controlled conditions.

 

Pledges: 

Mike Smith - $20 (if he can do the waterboarding.)school fundraisers

The idea for this web site came to me from my discussion with Chetly Zarko on his web site OaklandPolitics.com.  

During that discussion Chetly made the statement,

"But Fealk's moral clarity that pouring a little bit of water on someone's face equilizes you to Adolph Hitler who put 6 million in gas chambers has its own logical consequences. The outcome of Nuremberg was correct - following orders is not a defense and anyone who knew of war crimes was complicit and guilty.  So when you extend the reasoning to post-9/11, a bi-partisan swath of people should be sitting next to Bush in that cold cell of Bruce Fealk's mind (or perhaps giant expanse of his paper head)."

 So, in a response to Chetly I challenged him to be waterboard and I'd give $10 per second for every second Chetly could withstand being waterboarded.

"First, waterboarding IS torture.  It is not throwing a little water on someone's face.  I will offer you the same deal that Keith Olbermann has offered Sean Hannity, but since I'm not as well off as Keith Olbermann, $10 a second for every second that you can withstand waterboarding."

So, now I'm asking those of you that believe waterboarding isn't torture or even if you do and you just want to see macho man Chetly waterboard to make a donation to the Folds of Honor Foundation.  Folds of Honor provides scholarships to dependents and spouses of soldiers who have been killed or disabled as a result of their military service. 

The web site is Folds of Honor.

Definition of Waterboarding

In this procedure, the individual is bound securely to an inclined bench, which is approximately four feet by seven feet. The individual's feet are generally elevated. A cloth is placed over the forehead and eyes. Water is then applied to the cloth in a controlled manner. As this is done, the cloth is lowered until it covers both the nose and mouth. Once the cloth is saturated and completely covers the mouth and nose, air flow is slightly restricted for 20 to 40 seconds due to the presence of the cloth… During those 20 to 40 seconds, water is continuously applied from a height of twelve to twenty-four inches. After this period, the cloth is lifted, and the individual is allowed to breathe unimpeded for three or four full breaths… The procedure may then be repeated. The water is usually applied from a canteen cup or small watering can with a spout… You have… informed us that it is likely that this procedure would not last more than twenty minutes in any one application.
 
"According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess."