Official: Guantanamo Detainee Was Tortured

Fox News ^ | Wednesday, January 14, 2009

[gondramB]

A Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo Bay says the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Washington Post reported.

"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," Susan J. Crawford told the Post. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.

Crawford is the first senior Bush administration official who investigates Guantanamo dealings to publicly say a detainee was tortured.

[Cindy]

Note: This is public information.

So, what is lesson 18?

Here’s a copy right here.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jihad18chap1.html

#

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jihadmanual.html

[GeronL]

and what was the torture in this particular case?

[mylife]

Its a fine line but F, Qhatami and his ilk

[BigCinBigD]

If I were in charge of the interrogations they would have to find a new word. because torture wouldn't begin to describe what I would do to these subhuman animals.

[gondramB]

>>and what was the torture in this particular case?<<

I think she is arguing the combination stripping him and refrigerating him to coerce a statement became torture when it caused him to be hospitalized.

I would think refrigerating someone to coerce a statement is torture before that happens.

But as to the 20th hijacker, if they caught him quickly so that he knew about any further attacks that day I can see possible justification for torture.

[maddog55]

Sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold...

sounds like my normal Saturday night...

[EQAndyBuzz]

Here comes the “we have to close Guantanamo, the sooner the better” stories.

[piasa]

The U.S. has alleged that al-Qahtani, who military records show is about 28, barely missed becoming the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11, 2001. The Saudi was denied entry into the country by immigration agents at the airport in Orlando, Florida. At the time, he had more than $2,400 in cash, no return plane ticket and lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was waiting for him...——— “Alleged ‘20th Hijacker’ Claims Torture,” Associated Press ^ | 09/09/07 | BEN FOX

[skimask]

"If I were in charge of the interrogations they would have to find a new word. because torture wouldn't begin to describe what I would do to these subhuman animals."

I would make the middle ages and the Inquisition look like a birthday party for a bunch of 5 yr. olds.

All these people are doing is preying on the touchy, feely, emotionaly adolescent liberals and their so called "High Moral Ground".

[WackySam]

I would have taken it a step further- torturing his family in front of him.

[PLMerite]

“So where does it stop, and where does it begin? At what point is the Enemy going to respect human rights at least as much as we do?”

This scenario is eventually going to end with some atoms being split.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> This scenario is eventually going to end with some atoms being split.

Sadly, yes.

[PalmettoMason]

Reading through some of the "touchy-feely" stuff here, one thing is plain to see:

The last bits of outrage over the events of September 11, 2001 are almost gone.

I hate those people for what they did to my Country, and to my Countrymen on that day. Anything we do to rid the earth of them will be just short of enough.

Sometimes people use the word "genocide" like it's a bad thing....

[SECURE AMERICA]

official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo Bay says the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Washington Post reported.
“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” Susan J. Crawford told the Post. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.

---

THANK YOU UNITED STATES MILITARY. YOU did your DUTY even while those that control our GOVERNMENT now REFUSE to do THEIR DUTY..

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I fear that the left has hijacked this issue by redefining “torture” to mean “any technique whatsoever for applying duress.” Under that definition it would be torture for a police agency to tell a murder suspect that if he didn’t confess he’d be tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

[JudyinCanada]

I’m with DieHard on this one.

As Christians, I believe it is our DUTY to do whatever needs to be done in order to thwart the plans of evil people whose mantra is “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people”.

I guess I am not “intelligent, conservative, or Christian”, because I believe we are responsible to protect innocent people. These jihadists are wringing their hands with delight when we come after our own governments for doing what they have to do to protect us.

People like you must go ballistic when we actually kill the enemy - those who would gladly slit your throat, given the chance.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Perhaps we could have torture warrants and the government should have to make its case to torture. I simply don’t trust the government enough to decide on torture without checks and balance that the public can observe.

Good point. The problem is I DON’T TRUST the Government enough to decide to do the right thing and put American citizens lives ahead of kissing up to the Islamist and the World Socialist...

[SECURE AMERICA]

But we need some check to keep the government from torturing more broadly. Absent immediately saving another life, torture is cruel as defined by the Constitution

These past 2 years as America has rushed headlong towards becoming a Socialist Country I have studied the United States Constitution intently. While not a rocket scientist I am positive I saw no reference to the legality or the morality of the use of torture to protect the citizens of the Nation. Perhaps you could post the Article and section where you found this definiton of torture?

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>Torture is terrible thing to do - worse in many cases than killing them.<<<

That is pure bull, especially in the context of those held at Guitmo, where “torture” has been defined by the NYT and other leftist propaganda outlets as “Loud Music” and “Water Boarding”.

>>>But we need some check to keep the government from torturing more broadly.<<<

What we really need is some check to keep the news media from deceiving us—from siding with one political stripe or another. Our real enemy in this day and age is the New York Times’s, the Bill Moyer’s, the Brian William’s, and the Chris Matthew’s of this world.

[R. Scott]

I would think refrigerating someone to coerce a statement is torture before that happens.

Generally, "a statement" is thought of in terms of a confession. I believe most of the interrogations were for extracting operational intelligence, not confessions. Such intel can be checked against other sources and either substantiated or rejected. If rejected toss the prisoner back in the cooler. Unless a masochist the prisoner will learn to be truthful.