Ex-FBI agent: Waterboarding produced ‘no actionable intel’
Published: May 13, 2009
Updated 6 months ago
A former FBI agent who interrogated suspected terrorists told a Senate panel Wednesday that no actionable intelligence was gained from “enhanced interrogations” such as waterboarding.
“I strongly believe that it is a mistake to use what has become known as enhanced interrogation techniques,” said Ali Soufan who worked for the FBI from 1997 to 2005. “These techniques, from an operational perspective, are slow, ineffective, unreliable, and harmed our efforts to defeat al Qaeda.”
Soufan said that intelligent interrogation techniques used by the FBI were “in sharp contrast to the enhanced interrogation method that instead tries to subjugate the detainee into submission through humiliation and cruelty. The idea behind it is to force the detainee to see the interrogator as the master who controls his pain. It’s merely an exercise in trying to force compliance rather than elicit cooperation.”
“One major problem is that it is ineffective. Al Qaeda are trained to resist torture,” he said.
“In contrast, when we interrogated using intelligent interrogation methods [on Abu Zubaydah] within the first hour we gained important actionable intelligence.”
This video is from C-SPAN 3, broadcast May 13, 2009.
Download video via RawReplay.com
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I’m not so sure that the intent was to attain actionable intel. They torture a few people and then push the ‘torture debate’ on the American public 24/7 year after year. It’s a great way to stress a population, making people debate something that’s a no-brainers pisses people, obfuscates the real problem and misdirects people away from stopping the war. I’ll bet they wish we could be debating whether or not it’s ok to eat shit. It’s a shame the debate over the wars wasn’t as vigorous.
Waging a war that results in thousands upon thousands of dead civilians is far more immoral than torturing a few people and we don’t need either.
He mentions that the debate about “enhanced interrogation techniques” should not be a partisan issue. But the truth is a partisan issue. No matter what science or experts say, you cannot pry a Republican away from his favorite ideology.
The CIA has known since the 1950’s that torture harms the ability to extract information from a target. For a rough example, give mental techniques of extracting information a success rate of say, 50%, and give torture methods a success rate of 20%, but once the torture is used the mental techniques will no longer work. Which technique is the wiser choice? By using torture, the ability to get reliable information is permanently damaged.
Cheney and others who signed off on torture should be prosecuted not just because torture is immoral, but because by using torture they actively sabotaged the ability of true patriots like this former FBI agent to keep this country safe.
You suppose the real reason the Bushies brow beat the
US public for years about their having the power to torture anyone
is that if you got too loud with your criticisms of them that
they wanted you to think they just might have come for you in the night.
If you really think torture is ok,
think of being forced to watch it done on your wife or daughter
just because you were a political opponent of Bush or Cheney.
It is a different story now? Yes?
Torture is always against US Federal Law. It is always a Capital Crime.
Bush and Cheney took the indefensible (torture) and somehow made it fashionable and debatable in American society.
Bull, it is a Federal crime and it is time that Obama made sure AG Holder appoints a Special Prosecutor to handle the investigation and prosecution of anyone in the Bush Administration that conspired to or ordered Torture. Of course our AG has admitted approving torture for President Clinton so maybe we need a new Attorney General, one that can read, understand and obey US Law.
Torture is Not Debatable.
It is a Federal Crime.
Failure to prosecute will prove once and for all time that
Obama is Soft On Crime, that Obama favors a double standard of justice in America,
one where Bush, Cheney and his appointee lawyers are protected by Obama and his appointee lawyers
And another standard of justice for we common voters where if we do the crime we will always to the time.
SIGN THE PETITION Calling For A Special Prosecutor
http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
.
If this is an FBI guy then why is all of the media criticizing the CIA?
War Crimes War Crimes War Crimes War Crimes Somebody has to pay for War Crimes. It can’t Happen Here, No it can’t happen Here, Here Here Hear Hear Hear Is anybody Listening?, No it can’t possibly happen Here, not in the Land of the Free and the Brave, Make sure you check it all out… so you don’t have to worry about it anymore… the rockets’ red glare bombs bursting in air Play Ball!