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Title: Former CIA Interrogator: Painstaking Intelligence Work, Not Torture, Responsible For Bin Laden Capture
Source:
wonkroom.thinkprogress.org
URL Source: http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/05/04/torture-bin-laden/
Published: May 12, 2011
Author: Ben Armbruster
Post Date: 2011-05-12 20:37:58 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 8115
Comments: 34
Shortly after President Obama announced that U.S. military forces killed Osama bin Laden, right-wing torture apologists seized the opportunity, stating, without any definitive evidence whatsoever, that information gleaned from torturing Al Qaeda detainees led to bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan. While reliable sources, such as Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said this week that the information did not come from torture (or to use the Bush administration’s term “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques”), at this point it is at best unclear how this information was obtained.
What if a tiny piece of information that led to bin Laden came from torture or EITs? Today, Glenn Carle — who served 23 years in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and for a time led the interrogation of a high value detainee — told ThinkProgress that if it the answer is yes, the right-wing will use that and say, “See torture works.” While Carle said it’s possible that EITs might provide information, that doesn’t mean they should ever be used:
CARLE: Well I change the tense and say not that they will use that but that they are using that within I think four hours of the announcement that bin Laden’s death.Ultimately you get to an ends means debate. … The ends does not justify the means and you don’t build a policy, in this instance with regard to acceptable legal procedures, based upon the hypothetical, theoretical case which is five or ten standard deviations from the norm which happens one time in 5 million. What you do is you base your policies on an ever-changing calculus of probability likelihood and what is considered liked and works. And the answer to all of those questions should quite clearly exclude EITs. Is it possible that a specific piece of information from time to time would come from EITs? The answer is yes. To be fair the answer is yes. Does it justify using them? A categorical flat no.
Carle also said that during his time at CIA, “almost all the information obtained from EITs was recalled…because it was viewed as unreliable.”
Those on the right justifying torture argue that “harsh techniques played a small role at most in identifying Bin Laden’s trusted courier,” as the New York Times noted this morning. But the initial information on the courier is minuscule in comparison to the wider effort that led to bin Laden. “The critical point,” Carle noted, “is that intelligence is a painstaking slow process of building a mosaic. Little pieces of which are meaningless by themselves and together may paint a useful picture which is what happened in this case.”
When asked if any of the information that led to bin Laden could have been obtained without torture, Carle said, “Yes,” adding, “EITs are wrong, illegal, and they don’t work.” (1 image)
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 13.
Bin Laden has been dead for years. Obama should be waterboarded until he admits it.
#3. To: A K A Stone (#1)
Think about it; Bin Laden left brain and bone tissue, blood, hair, skin, all over that room he was pumpkin headed in. You really don't think Pakistan, or China would pass this chance to Analise the DNA and compare it with Bin Laden's file samples that Pakistan would have as a U.S. partner in trying to stem Taliban and other terrorist activities?
You actually think they would pass up and chance to make Obama look bad after he pissed them off with that raid?
We kept samples. they have sample forensic pathology can take and compare to see if it was Bin Laden who died there, and if the cells were damaged from having been frozen which is very obvious when closely examine the tissue.
I say to you, show me the beef. I see nothing from your POV on this but examples of people with agendas posturing.
If it was a false game, the cat would already be out of the bag on it by now.
#8. To: Ferret Mike (#3)
We kept samples. they have sample forensic pathology can take and compare to see if it was Bin Laden who died there, and if the cells were damaged from having been frozen which is very obvious when closely examine the tissue.
Where did we get the alleged samples of Bin Ladens DNA? Who took those samples?
Who checked the "body" to see if it was frozen?
Oh more speculation of a liberal believing a liberal because its lips were moving.
#13. To: A K A Stone (#8)
Where did we get the alleged samples of Bin Ladens DNA? Who took those samples?
Family members, his sister died in Boston recently.
Replies to Comment # 13.
The evidence he was killed is overwhelming. I suppose Stone thinks Bin Laden's wifes in custody are fakes too.
I have a firm rule; I don't argue with people who are this irrational. The evidence this happened will stand on it's own long after deathers like Stone have painted themselves in a corner trapped by their own hatred of Barack Obama.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 13.
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