Senate torture report

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pathetic little tramp: Dec 12, 2005; by Hillary Clinton's assassins; Fallen Rib

Chamale posted:

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.

And that is why I.....

No? That's it? Oh. Okay.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 00:02

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 08:33

pathetic little tramp: Dec 12, 2005; by Hillary Clinton's assassins; Fallen Rib

Chamale posted:

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.

Hoisted on my own petard, masterful work.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 00:44

pathetic little tramp: Dec 12, 2005; by Hillary Clinton's assassins; Fallen Rib

poisonpill posted:

It's surprising how well funded everything was. I mean we shut down the space program but spent a billion dollars shoving food up prisoners' butts. I am floored at how much cash flowed so freely. All you need are like forty bucks of wire and a car battery or something

Hey you can't put a price on some good buttfooding.

Edit: foodbutting. That's a better word. Let's hahstag that.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 01:19

pathetic little tramp: Dec 12, 2005; by Hillary Clinton's assassins; Fallen Rib

I was listening to Catholic radio this morning because I figure Catholics are against torture, so this will be reasonable right?

Instead it was an hour of how the world is just like 24, you just don't know man (and also atheist professors are making your children leave the church).

This idea that the world is full of Jack Bauer situations all the time is, sadly, super pervasive. Do people have some good cases of instances where we accomplished things pretty much without the use of torture? I seem to remember we got Ramzi Yousef on simple police work, for example, but more examples are always good.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 18:38

pathetic little tramp: Dec 12, 2005; by Hillary Clinton's assassins; Fallen Rib

Accretionist posted:

Are any of you familiar with the CIA's last 40 years? Does this represent them getting worse or going rogue or what? I don't have the greatest sense of context here.

It depends whether you think the torture of a couple dozen dudes is pretty horrible, or if secret "nation building" through secret installations and assassination attempts of world leaders has had a worse effect on the country.

Seriously, when the CIA first came into existence, some guy must have been late to the meeting and spouted out the first idea he could think of "Well, we don't like their leaders, so how about we install our own?" and nobody told him how dumb that sounded so it just kind of existed by the sake of no one really objecting.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2014 19:25

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