.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Born at the Crest of the Empire

Friday, November 18, 2005

What are "Harsh Interrogation Tactics?"

Interesting article on ABCnews listing six of the "Enhanced Interrogation Tactics." This is what the CIA wants out in the press. Judge for yourself.

The CIA sources described a list of six "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" instituted in mid-March 2002 and used, they said, on a dozen top al Qaeda targets incarcerated in isolation at secret locations on military bases in regions from Asia to Eastern Europe. According to the sources, only a handful of CIA interrogators are trained and authorized to use the techniques:

1. The Attention Grab: The interrogator forcefully grabs the shirt front of the prisoner and shakes him.

2. Attention Slap: An open-handed slap aimed at causing pain and triggering fear.

3. The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the stomach. The aim is to cause pain, but not internal injury. Doctors consulted advised against using a punch, which could cause lasting internal damage.

4. Long Time Standing: This technique is described as among the most effective. Prisoners are forced to stand, handcuffed and with their feet shackled to an eye bolt in the floor for more than 40 hours. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation are effective in yielding confessions.

5. The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees. Throughout the time in the cell the prisoner is doused with cold water.

6. Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.

According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess.

"The person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution, which is illegal under international law," said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch.


Oh, and as for intel obtained by torture being unreliable, this article gave an example that jumped right out of the page.

According to CIA sources, Ibn al Shaykh al Libbi, after two weeks of enhanced interrogation, made statements that were designed to tell the interrogators what they wanted to hear. Sources say Al Libbi had been subjected to each of the progressively harsher techniques in turn and finally broke after being water boarded and then left to stand naked in his cold cell overnight where he was doused with cold water at regular intervals.

His statements became part of the basis for the Bush administration claims that Iraq trained al Qaeda members to use biochemical weapons. Sources tell ABC that it was later established that al Libbi had no knowledge of such training or weapons and fabricated the statements because he was terrified of further harsh treatment.


Some of the bad intel that took us to war was obtained by torture. Do you see the problem with torture now?

Also, this is also the same intel that Sen. Carl Levin made available through a declassified report that DIA believed was supplied by a likely fabricator. A report that would have been sent to the President's office, the VP's office, the State Dept, the NSC, the WHIG, and many, many other places where it was ignored.

Interesting that this is one of the examples the CIA sourced.

Other stuff:

There have been several dozen instances of rendition. There have been a little over a dozen authorized enhanced interrogations. As a result, the enhanced interrogation program has been described as one encompassing 100 or more prisoners. Multiple CIA sources told ABC that it is not. The renditions have also been described as illegal. They are not, our sources said, although they acknowledge the procedures are in an ethical gray area and are at times used for the convenience of extracting information under harsher conditions that the U.S. would allow.

Just read the whole thing. But remember, this is what the CIA wants out in the press for their own reasons. Certainly to portray themselves in a positive light, but also to cover their asses if this secret prison/torture thing blows up in their faces. It's not a fluke that they "informed" a reporter after the secret prisons story and the McCain anti-torture amendment passed 90-9.

2 Comments:

  • People who advocate torture are sick individuals trying to project their mental illness as public policy. The fact that it doesn't work should end the debate. But for these people, facts aren't enough. For the kind of people running this administration, faith-based arguments always win the day.

    By Blogger NEWSGUY, at 8:14 PM  

  • To respond to both of you, beyond a very gut level repugnance at the concept of "my america" torturing, I have three main objections to torture. The first is the one that you both mention, that torture does not produce reliable information, therefore, there is no valid reason to undertake a policy that creates less support an more enemies.

    The second is the prospect of torturing people who are innocent, or for information they do not have. As example, many of the detainees who were picked up in Afghanistan were picked up by the local warlord/militia forces and turned over to US custody. About two thirds of the original prisoners at guantanamo have been turned over to their home countries. In many cases, those "suspects" have been released without charge. Thus, these people were SUSPECTED of activities and then were subjected to measures beyond normal worldwide standards. I'm not alleging torture at Guantanamo, although rough treatment and some beatings certainly seemed to have happened, but that is our best example with data. We don't know any details of the "secret prisons." And what is the morality of waterboarding someone until they confess to crimes they didn't commit. This is like the Salem witch trials or the inquisition.

    The third reason I object to torture is the practical reality that once torture has been used, there is no further possibility of the individual or the information entering into the legal system. Osama bin Laden could, in theory, be freed from charges because information incriminating him was gathered through torture. And what of the detainees themselves? Because of torture they will have to be held extrajudicially for the remainder of their lives. Even though Dick Cheney predicts that we are in a "generational" war, eventually it will end, and then what legal status will be bestowed on these individuals. You can't release them, so are they to be held until death even after the declared war passes?

    I'm rambling. enough.

    Even if you do

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 2:43 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home