Torture Works? Not So Fast…
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in History, Law, Torture, Transparency
When I read the following I have to ask, “Who’s lying here?”
Because haven’t we heard from some pretty high profile folks that these techniques worked, most notably former VP Cheney?
I guess maybe Hillary was right.
First, from NY Times, what traditional interrogation tactics gave us:
Along with another F.B.I. agent, and with several C.I.A. officers present, I questioned [Abu Zubaydah] from March to June 2002, before the harsh techniques were introduced later in August. Under traditional interrogation methods, he provided us with important actionable intelligence.We discovered, for example, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Abu Zubaydah also told us about Jose Padilla, the so-called dirty bomber. This experience fit what I had found throughout my counterterrorism career: traditional interrogation techniques are successful in identifying operatives, uncovering plots and saving lives.
And now, what torture brought us…
There was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah that wasn’t, or couldn’t have been, gained from regular tactics. In addition, I saw that using these alternative methods on other terrorists backfired on more than a few occasions — all of which are still classified. The short sightedness behind the use of these techniques ignored the unreliability of the methods, the nature of the threat, the mentality and modus operandi of the terrorists, and due process.Defenders of these techniques have claimed that they got Abu Zubaydah to give up information leading to the capture of Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a top aide to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and Mr. Padilla. This is false. The information that led to Mr. Shibh’s capture came primarily from a different terrorist operative who was interviewed using traditional methods. As for Mr. Padilla, the dates just don’t add up: the harsh techniques were approved in the memo of August 2002, Mr. Padilla had been arrested that May.
I have a feeling we’ll never know the whole truth, but I still contend that the loss of credibility around the world isn’t worth finding out about a few operational ties with tactics that we simply didn’t need to use.
This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 and is filed under History, Law, Torture, Transparency. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Its a tough question. Torture is absolutely immoral – especially in this day and age. I guess in theory it is justifiable if the circumstances are urgent enough, but who decides that? And what to do if you’re wrong?
April 24th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
As long a we keep thinking torture is justifiable ever, the thugs like Cheney have already won….
April 25th, 2009 at 2:50 am
There was a reason why Jefferson and Washington changed the way prisoners of war were treated. In the end the benefits are tremendous.
As an example, WW2 POW’s that were well taken care of in the States were our greatest ambassadors to post-war Germany and made holding off Stalin’s expansionism much easier to accomplish.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:19 am
torture is never justifiable.
April 25th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I think that testimonies such as the one quoted in the NYT make it critical that all information, documents, etc. related to this be released immediately. My hope is that Obama hasn’t been intentionally selective about the documents he’s released, but a guy as smart as he must know that you can’t be half pregnant (different thread, perhaps). Until we have all of the interviews, tapes, documents, files, and testimonies, we won’t have a complete picture. And perhaps I’m a bit more optimistic than Justin, but I believe that we absolutely can know the truth if all of the data is made available. It is wholly in the President’s control for that to happen. If it doesn’t it is because he doesn’t want it. And, given his amazing level of (manufactured, strategic, and controlled) transparency, I’ve got every confidence that he will.
April 25th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
What The Fuck Is Wrong With America (Comic Version)…
See Also: Cheney Lies Again, Why Don’t We All Focus On “Looking Forward”, Babies: Not Just for Breakfast Any More!, What’s Wrong With America?, A Commentary: “War is Hell”, Crimes Against Humanity’s Grammar, T…
April 26th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
If there’s all this documentation that shows how successful the torture was in preventing future attacks, then why didn’t the Bush administration show some of that info to the public back when the whole torture debate started? If it’s because the documents contain secrets that are vital to national security, then why does Cheney think it’s ok for them to be released now?
May 24th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
using the image. hope you don’t mind