The Tortured Party
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| Fri, 12-12-2008 - 11:15pm |
Now that he's got nothing to lose by dropping the pandering, McCain issued a joint report just that found that Rumsfeld was right in the middle of authorizing the torture:
"Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld Approves Aggressive Techniques (U)
(U) With respect to GTMO’s October 11, 2002 request to use aggressive interrogation
techniques, Mr. Haynes said that “there was a sense by the DoD Leadership that this decision
was taking too long” and that Secretary Rumsfeld told his senior advisors “I need a
recommendation.” On November 27, 2002, the Secretary got one. Notwithstanding the serious
legal concerns raised by the military services, Mr. Haynes sent a one page memo to the
Secretary, recommending that he approve all but three of the eighteen techniques in the GTMO
request. Techniques such as stress positions, removal of clothing, use of phobias (such as fear of
dogs), and deprivation of light and auditory stimuli were all recommended for approval.
(U) Mr. Haynes’s memo indicated that he had discussed the issue with Deputy Secretary
of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Doug Feith, and General
Myers and that he believed they concurred in his recommendation. When asked what he relied
on to make his recommendation that the aggressive techniques be approved, the only written
legal opinion Mr. Haynes cited was Lieutenant Colonel Beaver’s legal analysis, which senior
military lawyers had considered “legally insufficient” and “woefully inadequate,” and which
LTC Beaver herself had expected would be supplemented with a review by persons with greater
experience than her own.
(U) On December 2, 2002, Secretary Rumsfeld signed Mr. Haynes’s recommendation,
adding a handwritten note that referred to limits proposed in the memo on the use of stress
positions: “I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours?”
(U) SERE school techniques are designed to simulate abusive tactics used by our
enemies. There are fundamental differences between a SERE school exercise and a real world
interrogation. At SERE school, students are subject to an extensive medical and psychological
pre-screening prior to being subjected to physical and psychological pressures. The schools
impose strict limits on the frequency, duration, and/or intensity of certain techniques.
Psychologists are present throughout SERE training to intervene should the need arise and to
help students cope with associated stress. And SERE school is voluntary; students are even
given a special phrase they can use to immediately stop the techniques from being used against
them.
(U) Neither those differences, nor the serious legal concerns that had been registered,
stopped the Secretary of Defense from approving the use of the aggressive techniques against
detainees. Moreover, Secretary Rumsfeld authorized the techniques without apparently
providing any written guidance as to how they should be administered. "
http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/supporting/2008/Detainees.121108.pdf
What a surprise! There will be a lot more on this. If we don't hold those who broke the law accountable, the rampant rate of lawbreaking in the Republican Party will not slow down in the slightest. It will also be a good message to Democrats not to make the same mistakes.

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Right, right.
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Yes....How does one define an "evil nation"...There's one common thread that helps in determining something like that....Evil nations engage in torture.
Did the torture really work on even this only one person you can identify?
"Legal experts say this could taint all his statements. Forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner, M.D., an expert in false confessions, observed from the testimony transcript that his concerns about his family may have been far more influential in soliciting Mohammed’s cooperation than any earlier reported mistreatment .
One CIA official cautioned that "many of Mohammed's claims during interrogation were 'white noise' designed to send the U.S. on wild goose chases or to get him through the day's interrogation session." For example according to Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, a former FBI agent and the top Republican on the terrorism panel of the House Intelligence Committee, he has admitted responsibility for the Bali nightclub bombing, but his involvement "could have been as small as arranging a safe house for travel. It could have been arranging finance.” Mohammed also made the admission that he was "responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Operation", which killed six and injured more than 1,000 when a bomb was detonated in an underground garage, Mohammed did not plan the attack, but he may have supported it. Dr. Michael Welner noted that by offering legitimate information to interrogators, Mohammed had secured the leverage to provide disinformation as well."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Sheikh_Mohammed
Who knows. If we had used tried and true interrogation techniques on this terrorist as well as all the others, all indications are that we would have gotten a lot more valuable intelligence, we would not have sullied our moral image, and we would not have incited tens of thousands of young Muslims to become terrorists. Bottom line, you can point to but one dubious case, and there is no evidence that torture as a policy works.
>>> Did the torture really work on even this only one person you can identify?
I can identify many people...and yes, waterboarding did work on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed according to reports.
>>> Who knows.
I presume that the CIA does...along with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the terrorists who were killed or captured thanks to his testimony, of course.
>>> If we had used tried and true interrogation techniques on this terrorist as well as all the others, all indications are that we would have gotten a lot more valuable intelligence,
There's no indication of that at all.
>>> we would not have sullied our moral image,
I suppose that many on the left would prefer that we continue with Clinton's policy of rendition...out of sight, out of mind. To liberals, that doesn't sully our moral image. But many intelligent people feel that using "enhanced interrogation techniques," doesn't constitute "torture" and is both more humane and effective in garnering reliable information.
>>> and we would not have incited tens of thousands of young Muslims to become terrorists.
You believe that young Muslims became terrorists because we were "mean" to terrorists? Who were we "mean" to before 9/11?
>>> Bottom line, you can point to but one dubious case, and there is no evidence that torture as a policy works.
Torture wouldn't be used if it didn't work...leaving us with thousands of years of evidence that torture works.
Great question.
">>> Who knows.
I presume that the CIA does..."
You presume wrong. Over the past 8 years they have been proven absolutely and completely clueless, guilty of the biggest intelligence failure in American history by far. They thought WMD were in Iraq, or allowed themselves to be manipulated into thinking so. They have been incompetent and a political tool. They have gone along with the torture policy even though there is was and will be no strong evidence that torture works and all indications are that our time tested interrogation techniques we have used for hundreds of years work far far better.
The fact that the CIA said torture worked on this means nothing. They are a discredited agency. It's a shame that you and the other Republicans are so blind to reality.
Yes, torture didn't work in this case with the Sheikh.
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