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TechnoratiCIA Says Used Waterboarding Three Times
WASHINGTON - The CIA on three occasions shortly after the Sept 11 attacks used a widely condemned interrogation technique known as waterboarding, CIA Director Michael Hayden told Congress on Tuesday."Waterboarding has been used on only three detainees," Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee, publicly specifying the number of subjects and naming them for the first time, as Congress considers banning the technique.
Those subjected to waterboarding were al Qaeda suspects Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Hayden said.
He said waterboarding has not been used in five years, but it was used then because of concerns of imminent catastrophic attacks on the United States and because authorities had limited knowledge of al Qaeda.
"The circumstances are different than they were in late 2001, early 2002," Hayden said.
He said he opposed limiting the CIA to using interrogation techniques permitted in the U.S. Army Field Manual, which bans waterboarding. CIA interrogators are better trained, and it works with a narrower range of suspects in its interrogations, he said.
Hayden told the committee fewer than 100 people had been held in the CIA's terrorism detention and interrogation program, with fewer than one-third of them subjected to any coercive interrogation techniques.
The CIA said in December that it had destroyed videotapes depicting the interrogations of Zubaydah and Nashiri, prompting a Justice Department investigation.
© 2008 Reuters
29 Comments so far
Show AllWaterboarding is a mediaeval torture technique used during the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century. That it has been revived, and in point of fact, used, in this fictitious "War on Terror" suggests to me that we as a country have seriously lost our moral grounding.
We must raise our voices and DEMAND that our country cease and desist all torture and bring to justice those who have engaged in it. They have endangered our men and women in uniform who serve in war zones and elsewhere. That is, simply put, unconscionable.
And I agree with greatbear215 about Michael Hayden. He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and made an example of so that it will send a powerful message to future administrations that this kind of thing will NOT be tolerated, period. We must demand the unequivocal reinstatement of the Geneva Conventions and must hold all who have signed on to it to the letter of the law.
There is no excuse for engaging in mediaeval torture techniques, no matter how heinous the crime. There is something called "human rights" which the United States has always stood for throughout history. Until now, that is. We are no better than the worst rogue regime out there as things stand right now.
Michael Hayden's sorry arse should be slammed into a jail cell! He has admitted criminal conduct!
We know that Pelosi knew the Bushies were using waterboarding--the question is, did Hillary Clinton know?
Putting a new face behind the same desk at the same White House, to implement the same old rules, is not going to change any of this.
http://www.ryanhartman.wordpress.com
If ANYONE is subjected to waterboarding they would admit to committing war crimes. If you or I were waterboarded we would admit to being the second gunman or admit to being terrorists or even admit voting for bush. You see, it doesn't work. It's rediculous. There is not circumstance in which torture (waterboarding) is effective.
If professional torture experts of CIA, Mossad, MI6 and ISI or hardened thugs if you please to call them, are subjected to inhuman torture called 'water-boarding'; all of them will admit their crimes against humanity, whether or not they were involved in them.
This is good news. Our government now admits freely that it has broken the fundamental laws of humanity, and this also means that they admit to being war criminals. Admission of an addiction is one of the first steps in coming to grips to who one really is. Let's face it folks, AS A NATION we are addicted to a type of imperialism which can even counternance torture! Or at least are its enablers, apologists, facililtators, and fellow travelers.... Is there any hope for us? " God"- fearing people had better have an answer....and others had better meditate on the nature of karma and expect some feed-back asap. Have a nice day.
Yeah, and so do Bush and Cheney.
Citizen CIA says used waterboarding on three suspects
Reuters - 1 hour ago
By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA used a widely condemned interrogation technique known as waterboarding on three suspects captured after ...
CIA used waterboarding on three Al-Qaeda detainees: chief AFP
CIA Director Confirms Use of Waterboarding on Terror Suspects Voice of America
CIA chief admits waterboarding Aljazeera.net
Reuters - CNN International
all 433 news articles »
I think the world knows...
This story came out today for a reason -- it does not exist on any MSM news outlet, which is only gushing nonstop about polls.
Torture is against everything this country used to stand for. It's not just watersports but it's also all the other unplesantness inflicted on the helpless. Isolation, deprevation of sleep and hope and habeas corpus are crimes against humanity.
Do you remember how the greatest and most feared nation in the Americas collapsed under Cortez and a handful of men from the East? The long suffering victims joined together to end their oppression. It's not just Stupid's Economy. Recall the consequence of the last Tzar's heartless oppression and pointless failed war in the East. Recall Kermit the CIA's brutal Shah. Self Chosen People often discover kismet and bad karma.
Only three times??? __ Three is the charm...
This has all the elements of a tragic comedy. Laugh laugh, cry cry!
There's still time to elect the undocumented to do the jobs that American Politician's refuse to do.
Hayden forgot to add that water boarding is used to get the 'right' answers out of the prisoners. The three, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, provided the answers to jack up Congress, the Media, and the Public from 2002 to 2005...and beyond.
So, Americans, I need your help with this one. Let me get this straight.
Five years ago, your government says, it was torturing people at a time when it was denying to you that it was torturing people.
Today, your government is denying that it is torturing people but it is admitting that it did torture people five years ago.
Is that about right?
I don't get a strong sense that many Americans (one in a thousand maybe?) are registering the absurdity of the US position on torture (universally regarded as a criminal act).
We the majority think torture is just fine because we Americans carry the world's water and get no thanks in return but instead we only get terror. If you didn't know we carry the world's water, you haven't been listening to Rash Limbaugh. Try tuning in.
What about the several hundred "detainees" that have died in custody since 2001? Natural Causes?
If they admit to three, then the real number is probably at least 300.
Dear Mr. Hitler,
since you only gassed 6 million Jews, and haven't gassed any Jews in the last five years, I guess everything is ok now.
love and kisses
dubya
Was Hayden sworn? or can youall trust what he says because he's a good, honest man like Petraeus?
What the CIA has avoided saying is that they Stopped using torture because it is generally Counterproductive.
A person undergoing torture will say ANYTHING to stop the pain. He will Confess to Anything!
He will Make Up Anything he thinks will make his torturer happy.
By the time the torture ends, there will be such a mixture of lies, desperation and babble that the truth will be impossible to sort out.
Assuming the person being tortured actually Knew anything to start with.
The CIA, of course, has known this for years.
The problem was proving it to the Chimp and his NeoCons.
Especially since the Chimp's personal history shows that he Enjoys torturing people.
Unless you don't define Branding your College Fraternity's pledges with a Red Hot Coat Hanger as torture.
Look it Up. The Chimp-in-Chief Bragged about it.
to THELORAX:
we got no beef... just wanted to correct your statement.
Torture (Waterboarding) is against everything this country stands for. It makes me sick to think that some fascist cowards are doing this RIGHT THE FUCK OUT IN THE OPEN FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE... and nothing is being done about it
Torture (Waterboarding) is against everything this country stands for. It makes me sick to think that some fascist cowards are doing this behind my back. It makes me even more sick that some people who call themselves "Americans" say that "It's OK in certain circumstances to use torture." That is NOT the voice of an American or even a civilized person. It's time to take people that commit this act and imprison them. It's also time to take Mukasey and hand him his pink slip because he knows what waterboarding is but is too much of a puppet to do his job.
We have prostituted our Constitution to try to get a little security (which has failed). If there was any justice at all Michael Hayden would be speaking from a jail cell.
It's never OK to torture. Not even war criminals like bush should EVER be tortured. As an American I will never stand for it.
Sure. You get a criminal in front of a judge.
'Judge, I only raped three women last year. I only stole two cars. I only burned down one house. There were only two children I molested. The only people who got hurt by me really deserved it. I hope you're ok with that.'
Judge: 'Yes sir. Breaking the law is just fine as long as you do it to the right people, and you don't do it too often.'
"He said waterboarding has not been used in five years, but it was used then because of concerns of imminent catastrophic attacks on the United States and because authorities had limited knowledge of al Qaeda or the prohibitions and laws against torture"
/edited for clarity
Hayden told the committee fewer than 100 people had been held in the CIA's terrorism detention and interrogation program, with fewer than one-third of them subjected to any coercive interrogation techniques.
If this is to what he is willing to admit I imagine that you can multiply the numbers many times over to get the "real" figures. Notice also was not quoted in reference to how many deaths have occurred to detainees in CIA custody.
OYE
Jeez, with all that vaunted competition between the CIA and FBI, and with Hayden getting all the attention for the CIA by up-staging McConnell and admitting 'waterboarding', I almost thought that FBI Director Mueller would admit that Sibel Edmonds actually existed and comment on her report (as an FBI translator) that she accidentally came across documents proving that treasonous, high level Bush administration officials working with Israel were selling nuclear weapons secrets and thus actually promoting nuclear weapons proliferation to GWOT terrorist.
But, what the heck.
Even if Mueller had admitted as much the US media would not have mentioned it.
So I guess, if nuclear weapons secrets fall in the forest --- no one hears it.
At least not the trees that would have been used to make the paper for NYT pages.
Feel safe, trees. Your secrets are safe with us.
Sincerely,
The news-dog that didn't bark.
What this says it that the Bush administration is only about 99% sure that they have been able to destroy all the evidence.