Posted on 12/25/2002 10:39:28 PM PST by Cinnamon Girl
WASHINGTON - CIA interrogators have been using "stress and duress" techniques on captured enemies in Afghanistan that blur the line between legal and inhumane, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The Post described a cluster of metal shipping containers it said constituted a secret CIA interrogation center at Bagram Air Base, headquarters of U.S. forces hunting al Qaeda operatives and commanders of the ousted Taliban militia.
Captives who refused to cooperate were sometimes kept standing or kneeling for hours, in black hoods or spray-painted goggles, the Post said, citing intelligence specialists said to be familiar with CIA interrogation methods.
At times they were held in awkward, painful positions and deprived of sleep with a 24-hour bombardment of lights - subject to what are known as "stress and duress" techniques, the report said.
Those who cooperated were rewarded with "creature comforts" as well as feigned friendship, respect, cultural sensitivity and, in some cases, money, from their interrogators, it said.
On the other hand, some who did not cooperate were turned over - "rendered," in official parlance - to foreign intelligence services whose practice of torture has been documented by the U.S. government and human rights organizations, the Post said.
"In the multifaceted global war on terrorism waged by the Bush administration, one of the most opaque - yet vital - fronts is the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects," the paper said.
U.S. officials have said little publicly about the captives' names, numbers or whereabouts, and virtually nothing about interrogation methods.
But the Post said it had gained insights thanks to interviews with several former intelligence officials and 10 current U.S. national security officials - including several people who said they had witnessed the handling of prisoners.
"The picture that emerges is of a brass-knuckled quest for information, often in concert with allies of dubious human rights reputation, in which the traditional lines between right and wrong, legal and inhumane, are evolving and blurred," the Post reported.
The U.S. government publicly denounces the use of torture. But each of the current national security officials interviewed for the article defended the use of violence against captives as just and necessary, the Post said.
"They expressed confidence that the American public would back their view," it added. The CIA had no comment on the article, Mark Mansfield, a spokesman, said late on Wednesday night.
The off-limits patch of ground at Bagram was described by the Post as one of a number of secret detention centers overseas where U.S. due process does not apply, where the CIA undertakes or manages the interrogation of suspected terrorists. Another was reported to be Diego Garcia, a British-owned island in the Indian Ocean.
According to U.S. officials, nearly 3,000 suspected al Qaeda members and their supporters have been detained worldwide since Sept. 11, 2001. About 625 are at the U.S. military's confinement facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Some officials estimated that fewer than 100 captives had been rendered to third countries. Thousands had been arrested and held with U.S. assistance in countries known for brutal treatment of prisoners, the officials were quoted as saying.
I don't know. That's some harsh business. My mother used to use that on me, worse still, I might have been grounded for a week or two after.
Your unique codification system might suffer from the fact that most conservatives (as well as liberals and anarchists) are also opposed. Moral disdain for it seems to transcend ideological boundaries. Are you suggesting that it is a cornerstone of conservative thought?
Are they kidding?
This first sentence is wrong. It says the Washington Post "reported". That must be a joke. Secondly, the fact that the CIA uses inhumane tactics isn't news, and I am glad that they do.
Someone please ask this jackass reporter what was so humane about crashing four loaded jets into the Towers, Pentagon and that field in PA?
After we've tortured them to near death, send a few of them back so they can tell their friends what awaits them if they continue to screw with the USA. It worked for Black Jack Pershing. You be amazed what horror you can actually survive.
As you were!
^ Is that the worlds' smallest violin playing, "My heart pumps peanut butter? Heh, heh... I want one of those!
So whats your point ? If I have a problem with anything it's letting someone else do our dirty work.
I have absolutely no problem with this. While in NYC at a conference I went to St Pat's church on Veterans' day just 2 months after 9/11. I heard the New Yorkers pray for the lost members of their families and church. I went to ground zero that day and watched the fire still burning after 2 months.
I have no problem with our government killing the people responsible for that. I encourage it. I have no problem doing whatever is needed to get the intellegence information out of Taliban & Al Quada. If the US government wants to keep its hands clean, I also have no problem with our government turning uncooperative prisioners over to others who are less concerned about human rights.
As I understand it we are only seeking information, not confessions. This so called "torture" is nothing compared to real torture!
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