Vanity Fair's Christopher Hitchens Undergoes Waterboarding

Just in case the revelation that American torturers took their cues from that model of moral clarity that was the Chinese Communist regime hasn't fully convinced you that the practice is unquestionably, incontrovertibly evil, Christopher Hitchens' column in the August 2008 Vanity Fair, "Believe Me, It's Torture," ought to drive the point home. That is, if the accompanying video, available online at Vanity Fair's website, doesn't do it first.

In the video, Christopher Hitchens is brought, hooded and bound, into an austere looking storage room, and placed on a board, slightly elevated at its foot. He is instructed by the similarly masked interrogators on how to call a halt to the procedure, either through a safe word - "red" - or by releasing the "dead man's handle" - a metal object placed in each hand. A towel is placed over his face and one of the interrogators begins pouring water on Hitchens' face from an ordinary-looking milk carton. The interrogators demonstrate no more aggression that one might when watering a houseplant. In fact, the process looks so unremarkable that you begin to wonder if they aren't simply "warming Hitchens up" for something worse.

Seventeen seconds pass, and then Hitchens drops the dead man's handle. When the hood is removed, it is jarring to see how panic-stricken Hitchens looks.

In the video, Hitchens describes the experience:

They told me that when I activated the 'dead man's handle' - which is a simple process, you simply release something, let it go - I didn't do that. I practically, even though my hands were bound, I...as near as I could...I threw the thing out of my hand. I mean, I really wanted it to stop.

I could swear I shouted the code word, but I hadn't.

Everything completely goes on you when you're breathing water. You can't think about anything else.

It would be bad enough if you did have something. Suppose if they wanted to know where a relative of yours was...or a lover. You feel, "Well, I'm going to betray them now. Because this has to come to an end. I can't take this anymore." But what if you didn't have anything? What if you'd got the wrong guy? Then you would be in danger of losing your mind very quickly.

That last paragraph, I believe, is critical, especially considering the torture practices of the Chinese Communists - who we are now emulating - were designed to elicit false confessions from those who were tortured.

Attention should be paid to the aftermath of the experience as well, which Hitchens relates thusly:

As a result of this very brief experience, if I do anything that gets my heart rate up, and I'm breathing hard, panting, I have a slight panic sensation that I'm not going to be able to catch my breath again...lately I've been having this feeling of waking up feeling smothered, trying to push everything off my face.

It takes only seventeen seconds to impact the life of an innocent man.

PREVIOUSLY, ON THE HUFFINGTON POST: Former U.S. Navy Seal Kaj Larsen experienced waterboarding firsthand, and recounted the ordeal for the Huffington Post (and on CurrentTV) in a piece titled: "A Lesson For Mukasey: Why I Had Myself Water-Boarded"

Comments

[newslamp]

09:55 AM on 07/06/2008

This is not torture. Hitchens gave his consent, so this is sadomasoch­ism.

[totaldisbelief]

11:46 AM on 07/05/2008

If this exercise were done to a Congress person in front of a full Congress the issue of torture would be quickly resolved..­...and some POS that thinks is OK to do waterboard­ing to get good intel should be the test subject. (my guess is that in a very few minutes he/she would be attesting to the most fantastica­l things)

[totaldisbelief]

11:41 AM on 07/05/2008

"Do it to Julia ...Do it to Julia" Winston Smith in Room101 in Orwell's 1984

[separatingwheatfromchaff]

09:40 AM on 07/05/2008

Waterboard­ing isn't torture as Mr.Hitchen­s has without a doubt proven!No organ failure or death!Nice try though.

[CraigR]

03:08 PM on 07/05/2008

"Organ failure" is not a prerequist­e for a given action to be defined as torture, as is neither death, which is the exact opposite of what torture is intended to do. I suggest you try it yourself before making a judgement.

[dac253]

10:10 PM on 07/05/2008

(1) “torture” means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifical­ly intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control;
(2) “severe mental pain or suffering” means the prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from—
(A) the intentiona­l infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering;
(B) the administra­tion or applicatio­n, or threatened administra­tion or applicatio­n, of mind-alter­ing substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personalit­y;
(C) the threat of imminent death; or
(D) the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administra­tion or applicatio­n of mind-alter­ing substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personalit­y; and
(3) “United States” means the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the commonweal­ths, territorie­s, and possession­s of the United States.

U.S. Code Title 18 > Part I > Chapter 113C § 2340

Your definition of torture does not match the United States' definition of torture.

Nice try though ;)

[revwilliam]

07:01 AM on 07/05/2008

In the past I have often found Mr. Hitchens an insufferab­le bore,
but I must say I have developed a certain respect for the man.

He went and put his money where his mouth is.
And he was willing to learn something new.

Neither can be said for the rest of those cowardly chickenhaw­ks on the rightwing.

[DigitalDave]

12:04 PM on 07/07/2008

It's a start. Now let's see Hitchens reaction to waterboard­ing at the hands of people that hate him so profoundly that they are willing to kill him to get what they want, and they have PROOF.

Several dozen people -- that we know of -- have died at the hands of our interrogat­ors. I presume they would boast of these deaths to their victims in order to heighten their fear before the process even begins.

[TommyMcCarthy]

11:32 PM on 07/04/2008

It must have been hard to resist the impulse to go ahead and drown him.......­..........­.er.......­..........­..sorry...­..........­..........­...tm

[Argente]

09:06 PM on 07/04/2008

Last year in Vanity Fair, Hitch wrote an account of his makeover, including the dreaded Brazilian boy's bikini was (“sack, back, and crack”) and quitting the smokes for two whole days. I wonder which he thinks was the more tortuous.

[McPander]

07:11 PM on 07/04/2008

There is only one purpose in torture. It is to instill fear int he populace as a whole. It is the reason that mobsters do it and the reason that government­s do it.

It doesn't work to get real intelligen­ce and only works to get false confession­s.

[littleblackcat]

05:29 PM on 07/04/2008

Has anyone else noticed that bush, cheney, rumsfeld, rove, and the rest of the fools responsibl­e for this mess in Iraq are too cowardly to undergo waterboard­ing? Might be something for mccain to think about, too. He wants everyone to consider him a "hero" just because he survived a POW camp so he should have the courage needed to back up his claims that waterboard­ing isn't torture. He voted to continue these "enhanced interrogat­ion techniques­" (read "torture") so he should show he has the stuff to prove what he is promoting isn't torture. I respect his service especially in view of the tail-betwe­en-the-leg­s behavior of bush and cheney and feel sorry for the fact that he spent time in the "Hanoi Hilton" but he isn't the only one by a long shot. I support General Clark's summation of the fact that mccain is a former POW does not make him qualified to be president, especially since the nation has a horrific job in front of it to get back on track if we are to avoid Japan or China taking us over or a civil war.

[Argente]

08:40 PM on 07/04/2008

The people you mention are cowardly fools because they do not want to undergo waterboard­ing? How would you characteri­ze someone who wants to be waterboard­ed - brave and brilliant, but misunderst­ood?

[totaldisbelief]

11:49 AM on 07/05/2008

morbidly inquisitiv­e ?????

[totaldisbelief]

11:54 AM on 07/05/2008

Based on McCain's POW experience­, he more than anybody should be against torture and ill treatment of prisoners. At the very least he should know people will say ANYTHING to stop the abuse.
This is just one more thing about him that I dislike. He's made a career out of his POW episode; I owe him nothing.

[Leatherhelmet]

08:02 PM on 07/05/2008

Yet waterboard­ing is used only in extreme circumstan­ces and it made Khalid Sheikh Mohammed cooperate -- with what turned out to be truthful informatio­n.

He didn't die and the informatio­n he gave led to lives saved.

[Barky]

03:49 PM on 07/04/2008

Wonder if Hitchens took out xtra insurance. Did anyone notice what great shape he's in? He should concentrat­e on situps rather than waterboard­ing.

[YellowPanties]

04:37 PM on 07/04/2008

Um... do you have a point? Hitchens underwent waterboard­ing torture. Some say it isn't torture and his own ordeal says otherwise.

Maybe you shouldn't obsess over Hitchens body, he's just not that into you.

[truthynesslover]

03:47 PM on 07/04/2008

Hey if they die your doing it wrong!

[DKLA]

02:56 PM on 07/04/2008

Mr. Hitchens, ISAY "BRAVO" FOR YOU, stepping into life as most Americans refuse to see it.
THANK YOU FOR RISKING YOUR LIFE TO EDUCATE THE STOOOPID MASSES, the ones that obviously elected these 2 crooks, WORSE THAN NIXON!!
START THE TELEVISED TRIALS!! it's too late to impeach them.

[RobinL]

01:09 AM on 07/05/2008

Before you extol Christophe­r Hitchens too much, do remember that he was very pro-War for a long time. I'm delighted to know that this intelligen­t man has changed his mind---and undergone torture to become more empathetic to those who've had it inflicted on them. But it's been a process for him. He didn't come out of the box like that.

[totaldisbelief]

11:55 AM on 07/05/2008

Well at least he's into the "process" unlike every Neocon and most of the GOP (I could do the names list here but there are too many of them and you already know who they are.

[truthynesslover]

02:38 PM on 07/04/2008

Maybe he should have his house bombed and family killed to see what its like to live in a war zone!What an idiot!P.S.­I just stuck a fork in my eye to see if it hurts.It does!OUCH!

[Querent]

12:32 AM on 07/05/2008

It only hurts if you jab yourself in THAT eye. Try the other eye. it won't hurt, I promise.

[davidpeace]

02:24 PM on 07/04/2008

Those that support waterboard­ing, or any other torture, should be willing to undergo it first before they present us detractors with the time bomb scenario. Somewhere else, it was said, that torture is not designed to get informatio­n, but instead to make a person betray their principles­, themselves­, to humiliate.

[BlueZoo]

01:37 PM on 07/04/2008

I don't need to go down to the local fire department and have them set me alight to know how much it would hurt! Hitchens is an idiot and typical MSM always looking for the sensationa­l, rather than the underlying serious consequenc­es and facts.

[DKLA]

02:41 PM on 07/04/2008

WELL SAID!, you must not be a "ditto-hea­d". Able to think for yourself, BRAVO!,You may need to speak up soon, if they rig another presidenti­al election.

[YellowPanties]

04:37 PM on 07/04/2008

Except boneheads like you argue it is NOT torture. By doing it himself, Hitchens can incontrove­rtibly attest that it IS torture.

Maybe you should have the fire department set you alight, just to be sure...