Posted on 08/25/2009 12:45:51 PM PDT by flutters
WASHINGTON -- An internal CIA report made public yesterday says the agency's heavily criticized interrogation techniques led to the 2003 arrest of a Columbus truck driver who pleaded guilty to providing assistance to al-Qaida.
The 2004 report, released following an order by a federal judge, asserted that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, provided CIA interrogators with information that "led to the investigation and prosecution'' of Iyman Faris, a native of Pakistan who was living in Columbus.
Faris, 39, is serving a 20-year sentence after admitting he had scouted the Brooklyn Bridge in 2002 as a possible target of a terrorist attack. Although al-Qaida considered cutting the lines of suspension bridges in New York City to cause their collapse, Faris apparently concluded in early 2003 it was not feasible.
The report, written by the CIA's inspector general, detailed a series of abuses in questioning al-Qaida operatives who were captured in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, which killed 3,000 Americans and destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center and damaged part of the Pentagon.
Although the heavily censored 259-page report focuses on water boarding and other harsh techniques that CIA officials employed, the inspector general acknowledged that "there is no doubt the (harsh interrogation) program has been effective.''
The report said information provided by the detainees "assisted in the identification of terrorists,'' including Faris. The report added that "detainees, both planners and operatives, have also made the (CIA) aware of several plots planned for the United States and around the world,'' including flying a hijacked airliner into the tallest building in California and cutting the suspension lines of New York bridges.
"This review did not uncover any evidence that these plots were imminent,'' the report concluded. But CIA "senior managers believe that lives have been saved as a result of the capture and interrogation of terrorists who were planning attacks.''
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants, was captured March 1, 2003, in Pakistan. According to the report, he was water boarded 183 times during that month of March. The FBI arrested Faris on March 20, 2003, and he pleaded guilty on May 1 of that year.
David B. Smith, a Virginia attorney who represented Faris, said he has known for a few years that Mohammed "had given up Faris' name under some kind of severe interrogation.''
The federal courts later rejected Faris' effort to withdraw his guilty plea. He is now serving his sentence in a federal facility in Colorado.
Former Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the captured terrorists "are ugly, nasty human beings who were bent on destroying us.
"So when people judge the techniques that were used, I think they have to put it in a proper perspective,'' said DeWine, now a Republican candidate for Ohio attorney general. "As the inspector general report points out, information they received from these individuals saved lives. This was very valuable information that was received.''
DeWine said in the aftermath of 9-11, many analysts predicted additional attacks, including potential chemical assaults. But DeWine said that "just didn't happen. We obtained information in many ways. Information is what intelligence is about and information prevents tragedies and lack of information causes tragedies.''
But Carrie Davis, staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said, "There have been studies galore showing that these so-called enhanced interrogation techniques or torture are ineffective.
"Generally the problem is there is no way to verify the accuracy of this information and when somebody is being tortured they're going to say anything. So there is a real question of accuracy.''
Don’t throw Cheney into the Briar Patch again Mr Holden.
Pray for America and Our Troops
Pretty obvious it was good information when the guy they busted in Columbus confessed to the same plot that they learned about through interrogation eariler.
How mean is that. Waterboarding homicidal maniacs hellbent on killing as many Americans as possible. One way to avoid more nasty encounters a la 9/11 is to simply give in to Jihadists. Which is what Obama’s up to. Sell this country (the Great Satan), down the river, give up Western Civilization, Christianity, Israel and Jews in general. That’s what Islamofascists want and Obama and the democrats are doing their level best to give it to them. You have to wonder what it’ll take to wake the general dumb public up. Well, never mind, the MSM will create another crisis: trot out the latest expected swine flu figures, meanwhile bombarding us with programs about Michael Jackson still being dead.
Let me see if I fully understand this story. Enhanced interrogation techniques lead to the arrest of a terrorist. The terrorist admits guilt, and is sentenced to prison. The story concludes with a quote stating that enhanced interrogation techniques don’t work. What am I missing here?
The second thing is the use of torture to get someone to talk about the future plans of others. Here there is no question of wrongly incarcerating or executing someone on the basis of his own coerced testimony. Statements about the future plans of others can be checked. Even if the torture victim falsely accuses others, the behavior of those others can still be observed.
I don't know whether torture is an effective means of getting someone to talk about the future plans of others. This is an empirical matter. What is important is to maintain the distinction between a coerced confession of own past actions, and coerced information about the future actions of others.
Oh now the story has evolved into 1 person was waterboarded 183 time in 31 days. That's like 6 times a day every day of the month.
From what I've heard every time a drop of water touched him that was considered 1 waterboarding. But I'm sure the MSM wouldn't lie.
This article hasn’t been exactly presented...the report says ‘interrogation’ not ‘enhanced interrogation’ or ‘severe interrogation’.....misleading at the least!
The terrorist was plotting to blow up a mall.
"Generally the problem is there is no way to verify the accuracy of this information and when somebody is being tortured they're going to say anything. So there is a real question of accuracy.''
This stupid lady lawyer doesn't realize we always verify information from interrogation sessions. Verify and re-verify. The fact we caught this Jihadist in Ohio is a verification. Maybe she acts without checking things. That's not how the CIA etc operate. In fact they verify too much and let doubts seep in
Yep.
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