Sunday, September 6, 2009

Ali Soufan Slams the Cheney Torture Program

Great op ed from the former FBI agent Ali Soufan today in the NY Times. I don't expect this, a precis from someone who was on the frontline of the War on Terror, to completely eliminate all our residual torture apologists, but it's a good start.
Some of the information that is cited in the memos — the revelation that Mr. Mohammed had been the mastermind of 9/11, for example, and the uncovering of Jose Padilla, the so-called dirty bomber — was gained from another terrorism suspect, Abu Zubaydah, by “informed interrogation,” conducted by an F.B.I. colleague and me. The arrest of Walid bin Attash, one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted messengers, which was also cited in the 2005 C.I.A. memo, was thanks to a quick-witted foreign law enforcement officer, and had nothing to do with harsh interrogation of anyone. The examples go on and on.

A third top suspected terrorist who was subjected to enhanced interrogation, in 2002, was Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the man charged with plotting the 2000 bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole. I was the lead agent on a team that worked with the Yemenis to thwart a series of plots by Mr. Nashiri’s operatives in the Arabian Peninsula — including planned attacks on Western embassies. In 2004, we helped prosecute 15 of these operatives in a Yemeni court. Not a single piece of evidence that helped us apprehend or convict them came from Mr. Nashiri.

It is surprising, as the eighth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, that none of Al Qaeda’s top leadership is in our custody. One damaging consequence of the harsh interrogation program was that the expert interrogators whose skills were deemed unnecessary to the new methods were forced out.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Point is, Buckeye,
that Torture, for lack of a better word, is Good. Torture is Right, Torture Works, Torture Clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Torture, in all its forms, Torture for life, for money, for for love, for knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.
And Torture, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation, The United States of America....

Yeah, Gordon Gekko was always sort of a personal hero...

Frank

Anonymous said...

He wasn't named Dick by accident. Torture in any form is wrong and should not be tolerated. Next thing you know the citizens of this great country will be tortured and the government will say it's for your own safety. The United States is better than that and we as a society should never accept torture. All torture does is make other countries hate the United States even more and makes future attacks on US soil even more likely. Noam Chomsky talks about this very subject in his book Hehemony or Survival which is a very good read. Another good post by Buckeye.

Cataract Doctor Toronto said...

Torture in any and every form should be forced back it is against humanity and moral and civil values. we are a part of civilized society wherein we can handle anykind of situation with soft hands.
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Jacob

Cataract Doctor Toronto

Cataract Doctor Toronto said...

A great article to read through in these tough times.
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Jacob

Cataract Doctor Toronto

Anonymous said...

Doc Buckeye,

YOu may be interested in listening to a recent talk given by Professor Alfred McCoy, an historian and expert on the history of torture by US authorities.
The talk is archived on the WORT 89.9, Madison, Wisconsin, radio station website. It is archived on the program, "A Public Affair", on Monday, September 14.
I hope you can directly link to the page here:
http://archive.wort-fm.org/

Thank-you for your blog. I read your medical and personal reflections with interest.

- Just a patient in the heartland.