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Throughout our history, the United States of America has done more than any other nation to stand up for freedom, democracy, and the inherent dignity and human rights of people around the world. The CIA used its enhanced interrogation techniques despite warnings from CIA medical personnel. Since the horrific attacks of 9/11, these public servants have worked tirelessly to devastate core al Qaeda, deliver justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupt terrorist operations and thwart terrorist attacks. CIA officers also threatened at least three detainees with harm to their families— to include threats to harm the children of a detainee, threats to sexually abuse the mother of a detainee, and a threat to "cut [a detainee's] mother's throat". Our intelligence professionals are patriots, and we are safer because of their heroic service and sacrifices. In the years after 9/11, with legitimate fears of further attacks and with the responsibility to prevent more catastrophic loss of life, the previous administration faced agonizing choices about how to pursue al Qaeda and prevent additional terrorist attacks against our country. Interrogation techniques such as slaps and "wallings" (slamming detainees against a wall) were used in combination, frequently concurrent with sleep deprivation and nudity. At the same time, some of the actions that were taken were contrary to our values. The use of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of obtaining accurate information or gaining detainee cooperation. Today’s report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence details one element of our nation’s response to 9/11—the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, which I formally ended on one of my first days in office. Some of the plots that the CIA claimed to have "disrupted" as a result of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques were assessed by intelligence and law enforcement officials as being infeasible or ideas that were never operationalized. Moreover, these techniques did significant damage to America’s standing in the world and made it harder to pursue our interests with allies and partners. CIA officers (including personnel not trained in interrogation) could, at their discretion, strip a detainee naked, shackle him in the standing position for up to 72 hours, and douse the detainee repeatedly with cold water—without approval from CIA Headquarters. As Commander in Chief, I have no greater responsibility than the safety and security of the American people. [CIA Officer 1] ordered that Gul Rahman be shackled to the wall of his cell in a position that required the detainee to rest on the bare concrete floor. That is why I have consistently supported the declassification of today’s report. The next day, the guards found Gul Rahman's dead body. But one of the strengths that makes America exceptional is our willingness to openly confront our past, face our imperfections, make changes and do better. Later, during the course of al-Nashiri's debriefings, while he was blindfolded, [CIA Officer 2] placed a pistol near al-Nashiri's head and operated acordless drill near al-Nashiri's body. Today is also a reminder that upholding the values we profess doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us stronger and that the United States of America will remain the greatest force for freedom and human dignity that the world has ever known.
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Dec 9, 2014 23:36
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 07:45 |
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pathetic little tramp posted:And that is why I..... That's not Obama's actual speech, of course he would never say exactly what the CIA did. I mashed up his "no nation is perfect" speech with excerpts from the redacted torture report.
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Dec 10, 2014 00:14
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fade5 posted:At first glance this seems horrible, but after thinking about it, I honestly wonder if this won't be a net improvement for the dude. Libya's in the midst of a civil war and there's barely a "government" left, so rather than throw him in a Libyan prison they might just end up turning the dude loose so that they don't have to feed, clothe, and constantly guard him. Now, he's still gonna be stuck in Libya with no real way forward. Do you know how Gaddafi dealt with prison overcrowding during the Libyan Civil War? It involves a locked door, a can of gasoline, and a match. duz posted:Naw, it's running under the logic that to accept a pardon, you have to admit you committed a crime. You're right. All this would do is continue the precedent that the government can commit whatever crimes it wants and escape prosecution afterwards. We need convictions to enforce that this is illegal. Of course, it goes right to the top, and no president would ever arrest the former president from the rival party because of the precedent that would set.
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Dec 10, 2014 21:56
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Everblight posted:One of the truly surprising things to come out of the whole Guantanamo Atrocities (as they will be known in our kid's history textbooks) was at least one rear end in a top hat Morning Zoo shock-jock had himself waterboarded to prove what a badass he was, lasted 9 seconds and on the air that day said there was no doubt in his mind that it was torture and shouldn't be done. It's definitely worth watching the video. "It's absolutely torture." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9TzGGsVt60
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Dec 10, 2014 23:35
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Unhinged Vulcan posted:this entire thing was a bit, you know that right? What exactly do you mean by that? He said waterboarding isn't torture, held a poll to decide if he or his co-host should be waterboarded, went through with it, and declared that waterboarding is torture.
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Dec 11, 2014 00:01
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I wonder where, exactly, future historians will say "here, this point, is where Americans abandoned the rule of law." September 8, 1974. Ford pardoning Nixon removed the last shred of belief that American leaders might not be above the law.
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Dec 11, 2014 22:39
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 07:45 |
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Wraith of J.O.I. posted:Has anyone here who has gotten in debates/arguments about these acts of torture successfully persuaded anyone that they (the acts of torture) are an abomination? I've gotten in a couple on a different forum and seen many, many more, and it's making me depressed and disgusted seeing people defend this poo poo so steadfastly. When did the transition happen for so many people to start thinking like that? I vaguely remember a time when torture was something bad people did. Obviously that attitude changed somewhere between 9/11 and the end of the Bush Administration, but when the first reports of torture came out were people outraged about them? I guess it was split between the people who said "support the President no matter what" and the other 50% of the country.
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Dec 13, 2014 19:53
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