Michigan Blogger/Consultant Accepts Challenge to be Waterboarded

Conservative consultant and blogger at OaklandPolitics.com, Chetly Zarko has agreed to be waterboarded. Even though he has stated waterboarding is "just pouring a little water on someone's face," he has several conditions to being waterboarded.

Chetly Zarko said...

"First, I will accept Fealk's ridiculous and impractical challenge if he solves the problems that make it ridiculous. One would need large liability insurance, a doctor present, a qualified and experience waterboarder (the hardest to find), a clear definition of WB, and a more fair recompense to me if I "succeed" or even a definition of what "succeed" is (I'm not going into a situation where success isn't defined).

Second, I've stood by the McCain position on this - not the Bush position. I oppose torture and think Bush was wrong to even try to go down the legal definition road he went down. It was a tactical and public relations mistake, as well as ethically challenged - to try open up the definition of torture.

That said, I do not think Bush went so far as to commit a crime here, or at least the evidence does not exist for that.

Bush himself had legal opinions justifying it. He never once disobeyed a court ruling on any Patriot Act issue or other matter relating to this area. And even the lawyers were operating under what the law would define as a "colorable" argument - that is, unless the lawyers made patently "frivolous" arguments, and while the standards for that rarely enforced there are some logical standards for frivolty that do exist, the lawyers (or by extension Bush) are not guilty of a war crime. The simple fact is that "torture" is not a precisely defined term, and like most terms, it is not a rigid term in that the context of an act doesn't have some bearing on whether it is torture or not."

I'm a little confused by his conditions, though. If waterboarding is safe and effective, why does he need a doctor standing by and a large liability policy?

I am trying to contact Keith Olbermann at Countdown to see if Keith would be willing to make the same offer to Chetly that he made to Sean Hannity.

"and a more fair recompense to me if I 'succeed' "

What was the fair recompense that other waterboarding victims received from us? I think that would be the "fair" thing to give to a privileged volunteer who asks to be waterboarded of their own free will. I certainly don't remember the other victims getting some big cash prize for undergoing that treatment.

fellow understand that waterboarding is torture.

Catch Ventura on Larry King last night, he was waterboarded during SERE and said it is torture.

Check out the politica video link here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x310956

Part 1 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9yfMdNC6cQ

Part 2 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejahDWoYk2A

I'm sure prisoners had "large liability insurance and a doctor present."