This is a fight for the Integrity, Credibility and Soul of America and what we stand for.
In yet another battle with the CIA, Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat from California and chair of the Senate intelligence committee, indicated that she will delay the greatly anticipated release of the CIA torture report, in an attempt to reverse redactions that “eliminate or obscure key facts that support the report’s findings an conclusions.” Feinstein went on to say, “until these redactions are addressed to the committee’s satisfaction, the report will not be made public.” Senator Carl Levin of Michigan (chair the Senate armed services committee) who lead his own investigation into US military torture, called the redactions “totally unacceptable.” Levin went on to say, “classification should be used to protect sources and methods or the disclosure of information which could compromise national security, not to avoid disclosure of improper acts or embarrassing information.”
The White House is attempting to find the acceptable redaction balance between the CIA and the Intelligence Committee, a hard task after CIA director John Brennan admitted that in spite of his previous denials, agency officials did violate network firewalls to access emails and other data from committee staffers, as Senator Feinstein previously claimed.
It is clear that brutal torture was used against prisoners by the military and CIA in violation of US and international laws, with the knowledge and approval of President George W. Bush and his administration.
It is also clear that torture or enhanced interrogation techniques (as it was referred to by the Bush administration) does not work. It does not work from a Neuroscience perspective because it interferes and destroys a person’s ability to think, recall and make cognitive decisions. It does not work from the experts in the field perspective, as experienced intelligence officers in the military indicate that torture only makes it harder to evaluate information acquired and makes it more suspect, while the best way to get information is to build rapport with the person being interrogated.
Since sunlight is the best disinfectant, and since the integrity, credibility and soul of America is at risk, should we not make sure that debate is facilitated and stimulated by the release of this report in as complete a form as is possible, without jeopardizing the security and safety of Americans involved and methods used?
Photo: J Scott Applewhite /AP
Jonathan G.
You’re getting coerced confession–NKVD, etc.–mixed up with military intel.
But, to my question, if it could be shown that torture could work, would you be willing to insist we pay the price in lives for not using it? Easy answer is that it doesn’t work. But let’s just hypo here.
Mu!
I reject the premise of your question. Using it costs lives, too, as it motivates the enemy to fight us.
But, that said, Americans are supposedly willing to fight and die for ideals. So is it worth it to abandon out morality and become monsters to save some lives? If so, them why don’t we, say, lower speed limits on all roads to 15MPH? That’d save far more lives than torture.
Tsach. Truth serums are illegal in warfare or associated intel operations. If we used them on an enemy of the US, there would be howls from the usual suspects. What’s the acronym for “You Know It, I Know It, I Know You Know It”? Can you put commas in acronyms? I’ve had the things a couple of times and they will get you babbling. It would be easy to direct the conversation, so to speak. The issue of torture is not torture. It’s whether or not the US is allowed to defend itself. Truth serum will help and so it… Read more »
Tom and Wes,
We actually agree here. I think there are much better ways to obtain information than torture. I think we should use those that we perfected over many years. I will put resources into perfecting “truth” drugs and non-torture methods that inhibit lying and facilitate information gathering. I think it is money well spent.
Jesse Ventura, a former SEAL said, “Give me a waterboard and an hour and I will have Dick Cheney confessing to the Sharon Tate murder.” Cheney, and others like him are just looking for an excuse to interrogate any American at will and by any means.
Tsach
D\”damned if you do, damned if you don’t” or “stuck between a rock and a hard place” but come to mind.
Torture is torture but when and where do you draw the line? I have to ask you Tsach, do you have a line drawn as to when it would be acceptable if ever and to what extent?
During the Second World War, intelligence operatives carried lethal pills for use should they be captured. The thought was, they’d give away what they should not. It is important to one view to insist torture never works. It’s more difficult if you think torture might work. Then you have a choice. Torture or forego the intel thus gained and pay the price in lives. Easier to pretend centuries of interrogation never succeeded by use of torture. Then you don’t have to choose. I believe the CIA is insisting they got some useful intel. It will be important to another view… Read more »
The cyanide pill was for the psychological well-being of the agent, to have the option to avoid a much more unpleasant death. It wouldn’t work as an agency tool to avoid secrets getting out, because it relies on voluntary action by the agent far from any influence by the agency.
Anyway, history shows that torture works. You can get people to admit to doing just about anything you want, including the assassination of Caesar.