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He He He may not be the most authentic journalist, but libertarian radio host Erich “Mancow” Muller has recently injected himself into the debate on torture in support of coercive interrogation techniques such as waterboarding. This morning he decided to take the plunge himself. “I wanted to prove it wasn’t torture.” he said. “They cut off our heads, we put water on their face….I really thought ‘I’m going to laugh this off’.”‘
But after six seconds, Mancow terminated the demonstration and had a change in heart. Visibly traumatized, he stammered, “I don’t want to say this: absolutely torture.” Check out the video below as well as videos of three other journalists who have submitted to waterboarding.
Playboy Journalist Mike Guy was waterboarded in late April. He wagered that he could last fifteen seconds, and only lasted six.
Vanity Fair writer Christopher Hitchens was not only waterboarded for an August 2008 article, but even had himself abducted by ex-military interrogators to recreate the process. He lasted under ten seconds and claimed that in the aftermath he suffered from paranoia and claustrophobia anytime he was out of breath.
The only journalist who appears to have fared well during waterboarding was FOX News correspondent Steve Harrigan. However, after watching the reactions of the other journalists, it’s hard to imagine his interrogators were using the same methods.
Regardless of your politics, you have to respect any journalist who submits to waterboarding. It does seem that the opinions of most these guys, excluding the FOX anchor, are pretty consistent after they experience the procedure: it’s torture, no bones about it.
The crazy thing is that all of these journalists are in controlled situations in which they can stop the procedure at any time, which means it must be 100 times more intense for those who have no control. Of course, not every journalist supporting waterboarding has stepped up to the plate.
FOX News anchor Sean Hannity–a proponent of waterboarding– said in late April that he would submit to the tactic in some sort of “charity” event. MSNBC anchor Keith Olberman has taken him to task, offering to donate $1,000 to a military charity for every second Hannity is waterboarded. Post his boast and Olberman’s challenge, Hannity has kept mum on the issue. My assumption is a Hannity waterboarding video would put the rest of these to shame. UPDATE: Olberman has withdrawn the offer to Hannity and instead paid $10,000 to a charity of Mancow’s choice.
Keith Olbermann said at the end of last week that Mancow will be getting the money.
OLBERMANN: Mancow Muller had the guts to put his mouth where his mouth was, and the guts to admit he was dead wrong. As you saw, he not only said it is torture, but that he had nearly drowned as a boy, and it is drowning, and that he would have admitted to anything to make it stop.
So the offer to the coward Hannity — a thousand dollars a second he lasted on the waterboard — is withdrawn.
And to Mr. Muller, whose station’s publicity person contacted us yesterday saying she’d heard I’d offered ten thousand dollars to anybody who would do what he did –
You got it. Ten thousand dollars to the military-families charity of the man who did the waterboarding, Veterans Of Valor. […]
As to Hannity, you are now unnecessary.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/23/oblermann-charity-mancow/
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