Posted on 06/26/2004 8:59:14 PM PDT by FairOpinion
The CIA has suspended the use of extraordinary interrogation techniques approved by the White House pending a review by Justice Department and other administration lawyers, intelligence officials said.
The "enhanced interrogation techniques," as the CIA calls them, include feigned drowning and refusal of pain medication for injuries. The tactics have been used to elicit intelligence from al Qaeda leaders such as Abu Zubaida and Khalid Sheik Mohammed.
"Everything's on hold," said a former senior CIA official aware of the agency's decision. "The whole thing has been stopped until we sort out whether we are sure we're on legal ground." A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the issue.
CIA interrogations will continue but without the suspended techniques, which include feigning suffocation, "stress positions," light and noise bombardment, sleep deprivation, and making captives think they are being interrogated by another government.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I heard on TV that Moussaoui had the names of all 19 hijackers on his computers, but the legal constraints didn't allow the FBI to actually look at his PC.
Hamstringing the intelligence agencies is what makes us much more vulnerable, than we need to be.
Recently Jordan foiled a terrorist attack with chemical weapons, which could have killed close to 100,000 innocent people. I bet they didn't constrain themselves with humane interrogation techniques. It was Al Qaeda or the lives of thousands of innocents. I don't see that there should even be a debate about this.
"Abu Zubaida was shot in the groin during his apprehension in Pakistan. U.S. national security officials have suggested that painkillers were used selectively in the beginning of his captivity until he agreed to cooperate more fully. His information led to the apprehension of other al Qaeda members, including Ramzi Binalshibh, also in Pakistan. The capture of Binalshibh and other al Qaeda leaders -- Omar al-Faruq in Indonesia, Rahim al-Nashiri in Kuwait and Muhammad al Darbi in Yemen -- were all partly the result of information gained during interrogations, according to U.S. intelligence and national security officials. All four remain under CIA control. "
I suppose it would have been better if we hadn't captured the other Al Qaeda leaders, and let them still be on the loose plotting to kill us. (/sarcasm)
The Washington ComPost should entitle this article:
WE WIN WE WIN!
to be honest, these two guys have long since given up everything they know. especially Zubayda, he spilled his guts, even giving up the Saudi owner of the race horse War Emblem - who died of a "heart attack" at age 43 shortly after.
I have no doubt, the if Zarqawi of Al-Zawahiri is captured alive - this will mean nothing. they will get the "full treatment".
This is insane. We are playing a PR game and submitting to rules of engagement that will make the media happy. Any thinking person knows the media will keep moving the goal posts until the US loses.
If we don't take off the gloves and streetfight, we will lose. Our opponents know no bounds and the media is on their side.
I suggest we look to other techniques that have not as yet been banned...
How 'bout
placing them in a 6X9 room with skunks, and then scaring the skunks every 30 minutes.
they got Zubayda to talk by making him believe he was in a Saudi prison - except he talked not because he was afraid, but he thought he was amongst friends and started saying "hey, can you call prince XYZ, he knows me". 3 of those prices died of mysterious circumstances, including one who "died of thrist" when he car broke down in the desert. Sure.
One article mentioned a "torture technique" that Rumsfeld authorized: shaving off the hair and beard of the prisoners.
I kid you not.
Pretty soon the only acceptable treatment will be the equivalent of keeping them in a 5* hotel.
But now they can't even lie to the prisoners about who is interrogating them:
"CIA interrogations will continue but without the suspended techniques, which include feigning suffocation, "stress positions," light and noise bombardment, sleep deprivation, and making captives think they are being interrogated by another government."
just wait until the handover June 30th... the terrorists will be begging for to be back in US hands after the Iraqis get a hold of them
I agree with your general point, the administration did a terrible job allowing the media to define every action as "torture". shaving is torture, a leash, a frat hour human pyramid photo, hooding, a dog - they let the media define it all as torture, even though they could have ridiculed the media and found a receptive audience amongst a majority of Americans. they misplayed Abu Ghraib badly after the first week.
No wonder these CIA clowns always finish last. These are their interrogation techniques. If a POW may have information that can save lives, interrogation should include everything up to and including death to extract the information.
And don't forget poking was just banned too.
Its funny. If you asked even the idiots at the ComPost on Sept 12, 2001 if torturing a captured terrorist was ok, most of them would say "hell YEAH!".
But Bush has made them feel so much safer, that they now (and have for a while admittedly) feel that they can play political games with the WoT in order to get rid of Bush.
Lets make these terrorists watch a sex change operation on video. We could have it on a big screen and on replay for like 12 hours straight. We will even provide popcorn for them to eat.
Tell them to talk "or else we will go the whole 9 yards"...
We could also say "any of your buddies try anything and this will happen to YOU regardless"...
They would love to see him back at the terrorist camp, which of course we could drop him off at...
including death obviously isn't going to work.
We will just appoint a bipolar......bipartisan committee, to pin the whole damn thing on the Bush Administration.
Same old sh*t and here we go again!The terrorists have more sympathizers within our own government than they have in their own demented organizations.
But hey, Seargant Rashid...if you tie his hands like this...and do a little of that...then make him stand for this long... man that hurts like a...
But hey, this is your country and we cannot tell anyone what to do here...
The debate is fostered by the enemys of the free world...western socialists, communists, our mainstream media and liberal politicians and all other sociopathic demoniacs. These are the same folks that tried to make the world safe for soviet communism and have discovered that islam and international terrorism is simply another vehicle to the same end.
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