WASHINGTON, May 20, 2008
Report: CIA Pushed Torture Envelope
Justice Department Says FBI Warned Spy Agency, Military, That Their Tactics Were "Borderline Torture"
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A Justice Department report released Tuesday, May 20, 2008, found that the CIA and military ignored repeated warnings from the FBI that their interrogation techniques were tantamount to torture. (CBS/AP)
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Fine's investigators found no evidence that FBI agents witnessed or were otherwise personally aware of cases where terror suspects were subjected to waterboarding, a particularly harsh interrogation tactic that critics call a form of torture. The CIA has acknowledged waterboarding Zubaydah, in part out of concern that he had information that could prevent another imminent attack.
Such tactics "have been employed only when traditional means of questioning - things like rapport-building - were ineffective," CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said Tuesday.
In al-Qahtani's case, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said no evidence of torture has ever surfaced after extensive internal reviews. Al-Qahtani, designated as an additional hijacker for the 2001 attacks, was forced to wear a bra, dance with another man and behave like a dog while at Guantanamo Bay, according to a 2005 Pentagon report.
Whitman also said he was unaware of any Pentagon actions that would have delayed the Justice report. Fine's audit, however, describes seven months of foot-dragging and negotiating by the Pentagon over how much information in the report should be classified or otherwise shielded from public review. The 438-page report issued Tuesday is only sparsely blacked-out.
The report surveyed over 1,000 agents, interviews with hundreds of other witnesses and a review of more than a half-million documents. It concluded FBI agents in nearly all cases refused to participate in harsh interrogations and left the room when they were ongoing.
Agents also were fairly vigilant about reporting their concerns to their superiors, the report shows.
At Guantanamo Bay, two FBI agents "had concerns not only about the proposed techniques but also about the glee with which the would-be (military) participants discussed their respective roles in carrying out these techniques, and the utter lack of sophistication and circus-like atmosphere within this interrogation strategy session," the report found.
Still, the FBI did not emerge unscathed in the report.
Auditors found that agents in a few cases did not always report the harsh tactics and in a few cases remained throughout the interrogations. Fine's office blamed the lapses on unclear guidance from FBI headquarters on how agents should confront interrogators who were working under rules dictated by the CIA or Pentagon.
In August 2002, FBI Director Robert Mueller ordered agents to withdraw from interrogations during which coercive or extreme methods were used to get information from detainees. But identifying or defining coercive behavior proved difficult for FBI agents who also wanted to get information from terror suspects, and who were assured by their counterparts that the methods were "approved at the highest levels," the report found.
Critics said senior FBI and Justice Department officials should have done more to stop the abusive interrogations.
"While I take comfort in knowing that, for the most part, FBI field agents followed the agency's policies regarding interrogations, I find it very disturbing that many senior FBI and DOJ officials failed to take strong action after identifying interrogation abuses," House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement.
Mueller said his agents will continue to be trained and fully aware of FBI policy against participating in coercive interrogations.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 73 CommentsThe liberation of Iraq became the reason for the war only as revisionist history after the whole WMD thing didn''t pan out.
I agree that terrorist suspects, like other suspects would lie, but they remain suspects until they are tried and convicted. The prosecution has gotten it all wrong before, even after trials. That this "truth deprived" administration says someone is a terrorist simply isn''t good enough.
If they are tried and convicted, they deserve their sentences, but the rule of law is what makes us better than the terrorists.
Posted by speakinup
"Only when necessary" - a phrase used to justify the worst atrocities in history.
If the subject lies - you start again with the water boarding - and tell him before you start that even if he indicates he will tell the truth the torture will continue until it has been proven it is true.
If you don''t believe sacrificing the comfort of a known terrorist who is known to be witholding information is worth it to save an innocent''s life - I don''t CARE why you think of me. Tough Shiit - don''t get caught - die for your allah. I''ll be glad to condone an immediate audience with him.
Your hatrid of Americans comes thru loud and clear. Check out the kid sawing off the head of the handbound prisoner. Your ilk should hate us - we are at opposite ends of the spectrum - you being Godless freaks killing poeple only when they are tied up - and us preferring to kill ONLY when necessary.
I understand your your point of view gc, but I''m not certain that we should rule out torture when confronted with an enemy that brazenly uses it - such as when the televise beheadings.
I don''t like torture, but have to wonder why we wouldn''t employ it upon those that definitly use it, when we KNOW them to be witholding information.
I''ve heard arguements it''s not the American way - but if it saves even 1 life, and doesn''t cost the life of the prisoner (water-boarding for instance) - I would say go for it.
I''m not sure it is a good ''fishing'' tool, as if the person has nothing of value - what''s the purpose - I''m not into punishing until I know what the crime is and they are found guilty.
But if I''m interrogating a prisoner that has no qualms about killing innocents, or those tied up; and he makes the mistake of telling me he''s not going to divulge some life saving information he has - well let''s just prove him wrong with the water-board and save the innocent''s life.
- I''m struck by your desperation to make an anti-Republican remark - no matter how ludicrous.
I had to laugh from the gut when I read the above. Thanks for the comic relief.
1 - there aren''t any brainless Republicans - that''s why they aren''t called Democrats.
2 - Colin Powell wouldn''t run for VP or Pres in the Republican party - he''s too smart to want the grief that comes with the job - so why would he be so stupid as to go to the Democrats and ask for it.
You are almost as big a fool as blackalot.
The enemy will respect John McCain.
They will laugh at Obama''''s girlish features.
BullSheeeeet!
First off, torture DOES NOT WORK. The only "information" you can get by torturing someone is whatever he thinks will get you to stop torturing him. He tells you what he thinks you want to hear, but he does NOT tell you what you need to know (if he even has such information)!
Second, what evil arrogance, you sc.um-su.cking-b@s.****! The US DOES NOT have the right to go around the world torturing and murdering countless people just to save 1 (ONE) stinking american!!! One American life is worth no more than one life from any other part of the world. You think you are "better" and somehow "worth more", but you are NOT. Your evil sickens me.
So, what''s going to be done; write another editorial, incite a riot, jam Congress, nothing?
Posted by pghlady3
Then feel free to find some children to strap bombs onto since you feel the need to match the terrorists atrocity for atrocity. But those of us with honor and self-respect don''t have the need to act as barbaric as our enemy. Only cowards think that the most powerful nation in the world has to be so fearful of a bunch of cavemen that we have to lose our humanity.
We condem the Nazis and the Japanese and now we can condem those amongst us who did the rotten deeds and shamed our nation by going into the gutter. Shameful.
But anybody with a brain knows it just may be needed in SOME instances. If it saved just one american life it was WORTH IT. Posted by tiddsanbeer "
Budy you could not be any more wrong. Is is ok too to use gas in the trenches? Maybe you went to one of those high schools teaching "intelligent design" and were smoking in the john every day during history class.
My God, you may save one life and end up subjecting our own troops to the same rules of engagement for the next 20 years!! Torture is wrong did we set up death camps for captured Germans & Japanese during WWII? No way, it wrong and America used to stand for something higher. Torture is evil, and we never need to stop to that level to win the war. When we do we make ourselves equals to the enemy and then we have lost.
Bush and his pals are total failures in very sense of the word and should stand trial for what they has done to our nation.
OBAMA/POWELL 08!
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If you ask me, America has been going down the hill ever since world war 2 when it comes to foreign policy. The only thing that America has done is aggressively defend it''s own interests, using freedom and democracy as an excuse to manipulate other countries or even start wars. America has come to a moral low point and needs to take a hard look at itself, instead of lecturing the world about democracy and patting itself on the back. America has become a nation that loses its wars, needs foreign cash to keep its economy going and got itself a bad reputation abroad.
With practices like torture and prisoner abuse, America is hurting it''s own reputation even more, and it creates an aversion towards democracy rather then advance it. Whoever the next president will be, he or she will have a lot of work to do.
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