CIA destroyed ~ 100 interrogation videos
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 03-02-2009 - 5:37pm |
CIA destroyed nearly 100 interrogation videotapes
By DEVLIN BARRETT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The CIA destroyed nearly 100 videotapes of interrogations and other U.S. treatment of terror suspects, far more than previously acknowledged, the Obama administration said Monday as it began disclosing details of post-Sept. 11 Bush-era actions.
The interrogations were a highly contentious issue during the administration of President George W. Bush, with many Democrats and other critics saying that some methods used amounted to torture - a contention Bush and other officials rejected. A criminal prosecutor is wrapping up his investigation in the matter.
"The CIA can now identify the number of videotapes that were destroyed," said the letter submitted in that case by Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin. "Ninety-two videotapes were destroyed."
It is not clear what exactly was on the recordings. The government's letter cites interrogation videos, but the lawsuit against the Defense Department also seeks records related to treatment of detainees, any deaths of detainees and the CIA's sending of suspects overseas, known as "extraordinary rendition."
The details of interrogations of terror suspects, and the existence of tapes documenting those sessions, have become the subject of long fights in a number of different court cases. In the trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, prosecutors initially claimed no such recordings existed, then acknowledged after the trial was over that two videotapes and one audiotape had been made.
The Dassin letter, dated March 2 to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, says the CIA is now gathering more details for the lawsuit, including a list of the destroyed records, any secondary accounts that describe the destroyed contents and the identities of those who may have viewed or possessed the recordings before they were destroyed.
But the lawyers also note that some of that information may be classified, such as the names of CIA personnel who viewed the tapes.
The separate criminal investigation includes interrogations of al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Zubaydah and another top al-Qaida leader. Tapes of those interrogations were destroyed, in part, the Bush administration said, to protect the identities of the government questioners at a time the Justice Department was debating whether or not the tactics used during the interrogations were legal. (me: Uh....ever heard of fuzzing out the face & remixing the audio to disguise the voice? They do it all the time in the public sector.)
Former CIA director Michael Hayden acknowledged that waterboarding - simulated drowning - was used on three suspects, including two whose interrogations were recorded.





"
CIA destroyed 92 terror interrogation records
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiKwugMNzRs
Lacking true knowledge of what's actually on those tapes leads to speculation mostly negative.
Report: CIA has destroyed more than 90 'torture' tapes
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/258182,report-cia-has-destroyed-more-than-90-torture-tapes.html
>"tapes posed a "serious security risk" to the CIA operatives depicted in them"<
That's a feeble excuse. As you mentioned their faces can be fuzzed out.
CIA destroys 92 'terror tapes'
>"The New York Times claims the tapes show the harsh interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, a suspected al-Qaida member, and Abdel Rahim al-Nashiri, alleged to have been involved in the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000."< From....
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/world/autocodes/countries/yemen/cia-destroys-92-terror-tapes--$1274053.htm
This is a good article.......
CIA Destroyed More Torture Videos
>"Bush was fixated on how to get Zubaydah to tell us the truth,” Suskind wrote. Bush asked one CIA briefer, “Do some of these harsh methods really work?”
Zubaydah was strapped to a waterboard and, fearing imminent death, he spoke about a wide range of plots against a number of U.S. targets, such as shopping malls, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. Yet, Suskind wrote, the information Zubaydah provided under duress was not credible.
According to Suskind, Zubaydah’s captors soon discovered that their prisoner was mentally ill and knew nothing about terrorist operations or impending plots. That realization was “echoed at the top of CIA and was, of course, briefed to the President and Vice President,” Suskind wrote.
Still, in public statements, President Bush portrayed Zubaydah as “one of the top operatives plotting and planning death and destruction on the United States” and added: “So, the CIA used an alternative set of procedures” to get Zubaydah to talk.
The President did not want to “lose face” because he had stated his importance publicly, Suskind wrote."<
Complete article.....
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/030209a.html
...According to Suskind, Zubaydah’s captors soon discovered that their prisoner was mentally ill and knew nothing about terrorist operations or impending plots. That realization was “echoed at the top of CIA and was, of course, briefed to the President and Vice President,” Suskind wrote.
Still, in public statements, President Bush portrayed Zubaydah as “one of the top operatives plotting and planning death and destruction on the United States” and added: “So, the CIA used an alternative set of procedures” to get Zubaydah to talk.
The President did not want to “lose face” because he had stated his importance publicly, Suskind wrote."<
Lies atop lies atop spin atop obfuscation.
"tool for terrorist recruiting"
Exactly.
We watched a good movie over the w'end "Traitor" starring Don Cheadle. It was about terrorists/CIA with a good twist.
Kate
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Yes it was. We both enjoyed it. Cheadle is such an accomplished actor.
I'll have to check that one out.