The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 72/No. 1      January 7, 2008

 
CIA admits use of torture, justifies it
as part of ‘war on terrorism’
(front page)
 
BY OLYMPIA NEWTON  
The use of torture by the U.S. government in its “global war on terrorism” has received renewed attention after reports that CIA tapes of the 2002 “interrogation” of alleged al-Qaeda member Abu Zubaydah were destroyed. Retired CIA agent John Kiriakou, who led the team that captured and interrogated Zubaydah, recently told the press they had used “waterboarding” to extract a confession.

Waterboarding is a torture method in which a prisoner is strapped to an inclined board, head down, his face is covered with cellophane or cloth, and water is poured over him. It causes the person to choke and feel he is drowning.

“This was a policy decision that was made at the White House, with concurrence from the National Security Council and Justice Department,” Kiriakou told NBC news December 11. Kiriakou acknowledged that waterboarding is torture, but defended its use. He said it forced Zubaydah, after holding out for weeks, to break down in less than 35 seconds. “From that day on, he answered every question,” Kiriakou said.

“I have no doubt that the information gleaned from Abu Zubaydah stopped terror attacks and saved lives,” he told CNN.

While the Bush administration has repeatedly denied that U.S. intelligence officials use torture, it has not commented on what “interrogation” methods it considers acceptable. U.S. attorney general Michael Mukasey would not rule out waterboarding as torture during his confirmation hearings in October.

“I can say that any interrogations have been legal and they have been fully briefed to the United States Congress,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told the press. In 2002 the Department of Justice gave the CIA legal approval for the water torture.

According to the Washington Post, a bipartisan congressional group was briefed in 2002 on the CIA’s use of waterboarding and other “harsh interrogation techniques.” Between 2002 and 2003 the CIA held about 30 private briefings with members of Congress, including Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House. The briefings, attended by four to eight Democratic and Republican leaders, included descriptions of “harsh interrogation methods” they employed and virtual tours of secret CIA jails.

Porter Goss, who later became director of the CIA, was among the members of Congress briefed. “Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing,” he said. “And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement.”

“[T]here was no objecting, no hand-wringing,” one unnamed official present at the briefings told the Post. “The attitude was, ‘We don’t care what you do to those guys as long as you get the information you need to protect the American people.’”

Posturing as opponents of torture, Democrats in the House of Representatives pushed through the Intelligence Authorization Act December 13. The legislation establishes a new intelligence inspector general to audit the activities of all 16 U.S. spy agencies and requires periodic reports on the nuclear programs of Iran and north Korea. It bars the CIA from using waterboarding, sexual humiliation, mock executions, attack dogs, and the withholding of food and medical care. It still needs approval in the Senate.

The White House has threatened to veto the bill on grounds that it would prevent U.S. officials from “conducting lawful interrogations of senior Al Qaeda terrorists to obtain intelligence needed to protect Americans from attack,” according to a statement.

Democratic and Republican critics of the administration argue that the use of torture damages U.S. interests in the “war on terrorism.”

“I maintain my belief that it is harmful to America’s national security because it damages our image so badly and we lose the ideological struggle, which is based on the moral high ground,” said Senator John McCain, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination. He said Washington was engaged in an ideological war with “radical Islamic extremism,” and “if we engage in torture, i.e. waterboarding, we will lose more than we gain.”

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in flying prisoners accused of terrorism to other countries to be tortured. Five prisoners have told relatives and lawyers that they were tortured as a result. Washington has asked a federal judge to throw out the lawsuit to prevent the release of state secrets.  
 
 
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