Documents published by The New York Daily News this week reveal that a complex game of "mental chess," and not torture or any such rough treatment, "broke" Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The revelation stands in stark contrast to the Bush administration's repeated claim that its so-called "harsh interrogation techniques" were necessary for high value prisoners when lives were on the line.
From Daily News reporter James Meek:
This Feb. 8 report by Piro - in effect - framed the challenge facing the FBI to higher-ups back in Washington, including the President: Flipping Saddam into turning witness against himself would not be easy.
In his third meeting with Saddam on Feb. 10, Piro asked about Iraq’s aid and hospitality to Palestinian terrorists. Saddam boasted: “We accepted them as guests.”
While indirectly denying helping the Palestine Liberation Organization or Palestine Liberation Front leader Abu Abbas, which maintained Baghdad offices, Saddam reasoned that, “At any time, we have the ability and the right to help in the struggle” of Palestinians against Israel. When pushed about reports he gave cash to Abbas - the mastermind of the Achille Lauro boatjacking, who killed passenger Leon Klinghoffer - Saddam grew testy. “I didn’t say I helped Abbas. Don’t put words in my mouth,” he barked, insisting it “was not wrong” if his intelligence services helped the terrorist.
Saddam, still assuming he was in the driver’s seat, advised Piro, “I think the questions should be in the context of a dialogue, not an interrogation.”
Meek promises more of the story soon. Meanwhile, check out the reports filed by Saddam's interrogator, here, here and here (PDF links).
-- Stephen C. Webster
If the regime of Saddam's was "THE" threat, "THAT" cause to sign an AUMF Against Iraq...
... It would stand that it would be Saddam who would be subjected to torture, not some stooges unrelated to the meme of Saddam's WMD's this, and Saddam's imminent threat, and "smoking gun" of Saddam's ties to al-cia-duh, or how about Saddam's mobile Bio-Chem weapons plants, or Saddam's purchase of "yellow cake uranium, from Africa?
But Cheney said it was a "Slam DUNK case"...
.
I understand they did torture. They sat him on a chair and forced him to listen to Cheney, hour after hour.
Sadly, there is no reason to believe anything in any US government account. Maybe Saddam was tortured - maybe not, maybe what they did was properly called "torture" - maybe not, maybe they "broke" him - maybe not, what does "broke" mean to these people anyways? As likely the whole damn thing's a fabrication for the purpose of some ulterior motive. In a government of pathological liars nothing the government produces can be reliably called "evidence" of anything other than the perverse pathology that runs the government. What a sorry, sad mess the USA has become that we call such a government "ours."
If the Obama Administration and your Congressman cannot be moved to
Enforce our Federal Anti-Torture Laws by prosecuting those who Tortured
it will be clear to all that getting our elected officials to act in our best interests is hopeless.
SIGN THE PETITION
To Prosecute Them For Torture
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Poor old Saddam. So misunderstood. He could have straightened out our economy and kept those Iranians in line. Too late now.
We killed Saddam because he couldn't be allowed to speak or write.. Ever.
What happened in Iraq was a bi-partisan play in four acts.
Act One, GHWB - We instigate a cross drilling dispute and green light his invasion of Kuwait. Then we knife him and turn the world's 4th largest military to rusting junk in the desert.
Act Two, Clinton hits him with crippling sanctions. It killed tens of thousands, mostly the poor and children... But didn't hurt Saddam at all. No one cared. Harming Saddam was never the objective. We were softening him up for a pending invasion.
Act Three, W Bush claims 9/11 ties, WMD, mobile Weapons labs, drones in the Atlantic, and similar nonsense.
Act Four, Pending.. Reconstruction money is tossed around like candy. The principles get rich. We set what is supposed to be a western style government in place and claim victory.
What we're doing - Creating a wall of separation that stretches halfway across the world - From Estonia to India. We're militarizing energy and trade corridors for Europe (And North America) to the Caspian Basin via Turkey. Russia is isolated, their resources will become much less valuable, their grip on Europe will be significantly weakened. (Remember the natural gas crisis there last winter? Just part of the run up.. )
What pieces are missing from our wall of separation?
Only one - IRAN.