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With the Justice Department's release of a report on the CIA's abuses in overseas prisons and Attorney General Eric Holder's appointment of a special prosecutor to decide whether a full criminal investigation is needed, former Vice President Dick Cheney released a statement. Cheney says having a special prosecutor look into the matter "doubts about this administration’s ability to be responsible for our nation’s security...The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions." The AP's assessment of the released documents: "Interrogators took the simulated drowning technique of waterboarding beyond what was authorized. Mock executions were held." Specifically, "In one instance, suspect Abd al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole ship bombing, was hooded and handcuffed and threatened with an unloaded gun and a power drill. The unidentified interrogator also threatened Nashiri's mother and family, implying that they would be sexually abused in front of him, according to the report." Cheney also said, "This intelligence saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks. These detainees also, according to the documents, played a role in nearly every capture of Al Qaeda members and associates since 2002," but Newsweek wonders if the information gained was useful.
Cheney Says CIA Interrogation Investigation Is Wrong
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Hey, I hate Cheney as much as the next guy, but what happened to Abd al-whocares is a total non-starter. It's not like they pulled his fingernails out with rusty pliers. Every one of these detainees thanked Allah every day to be jailed at Gitmo and not say, some cellar in Amman.
Exactly
Commenter "Brooklyn" is too ignorant to deserve a response, point by point. In general I'll say, there are worse things in life than physical pain. If you haven't learned that yet, I don't know what to say to you.
In terms of your article, Gothamist, why in the name of God do you people in the media continue to give Cheney a platform? WTF?
His statements on this topic have been discredited over, and over. He was clearly in violation of the Constitution and many laws of our land, in addition to international treaties to which the United States is a party. He lied in office to suit his own twisted ends; he does the same now. He continues his public relations effort to obscure the truth of his actions in office, and you people are helping him. You continue to repeat his claims, just as you did pre-Iraq, regardless of their falsehood, as though the simple fact that he speaks is newsworthy and deserving of balanced treatment.
There is no evidence in this report that torture-garnered intel saved American lives or prevented attacks. "Newsweek wonders"? It's not a matter of wondering, Jen. I realize Gothamist is mainly an entertainment site, but do you take journalism the least bit seriously? Stick to fluff instead of posting crap like this.
Why don't you leave a comment on NYTimes.com or Newsweek.com if you can't handle it over here? If they hadn't written stories about it, there wouldn't be a story bout it on Gothamist. Do you complain to the guy who pumps your gas about the tumult of world oil markets?
Are you kidding? Physical torture is waaaaaaay worse.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/37/a4865637.shtml
and you really doubt that extracted info wasn't helpful? come on man.
You are ignorant of both American and international law, and you display a cavalier attitude towards the very core values that make us great. That goes for longacre, as well.
This ignorance is not something to flaunt proudly. You should educate yourself about the core values of our nation.
I'm glad Eric Holder and the Obama administration have time to prosecute people who were trying to protect America, while all the reckless Wall Street bosses who are ultimately responsible for the torture of millions of Americans will remain free to fuck up another day.
Yeah, it's that bizarre principle we stick to in this country where you have to actually break a law before you can be prosecuted.
So you think the lenders who handed out money to poor people like candy then passed on the securitized loans to investors while saying they were just as safe as US Treasuries were all on the up and up? Clearly there was fraud and/or gross negligence involved among everyone from the banks to the ratings agencies. Prosecuting these securities fraud cases would be a lot more cut and dry than convincing a jury (and the court of public opinion) that a CIA agent broke American laws by hiring foreigners who did bad things to mostly awful people OUTSIDE the United States.
It may be come as a surprise, but the government is able to do more than one thing at once. No resources have been removed from any potential financial investigation as a result of the naming of a special prosecutor.
Your final sentence is simply a joke. Any financial prosecution would be quite complex. As an example, the main Enron trial took 5 months, and included the testimony of several former Enron executives which solidified the case.
@longacre: you raise a good point. while i can understand political axes to grind, the very ceo's who buried the companies that were too big to fail, walked away with their bonuses and golden parachutes in millions --while we watch our friends and family loose their jobs-- are not living in obscurity, but back in the very same game again with their buddies, and EVEN advising congress on new regulations. it's like the fox raiding the hen house, then being asked to guard the replacement hen house.
on another point, while this is valid news, I'm not sure why Gothamist thought it was NY-related. no big deal. just didn't make the connection.
as for the "pyschological torture:" (in my experience, a pissed off girlfriend's techniques have no equal) C'mon, school yard bullies do worse. If you knew your house were under threat to be broken into, and your loved ones raped and murdered, I'd say you'd be justified in using any means possible to ascertain actionable intel on the threat, including using an empty gun in place of a loaded gun.
Next thing you know: giving wedgies, nooggies and jumping out from behind a corner to startle the bejeezus out of a suspected terrorist will be a punishable offense, because they're just mean, and they've never resulted in reliable info. The road to hell is paved with appeasements and mis-placed guilt.
Him compromising the identity of an undercover CIA agent was wrong-er.
Any criminal investigation wouldn't go after the guys on the ground who were serving their president. Would probably go after those who called for it in the first place.
Next time a skyscraper comes crashing down and kills a few thousand people because some allah worshipper flew a plane into or maybe a dirty nuke goes of in Times Sq, the same liberal assholes will wonder why the CIA didn't do more to prevent it.
I wish there were the same outrage every time some camel-fucker cut off somebody's head with a knife then danced around with it chanting to allah.
The camel fuckers aren't acting in our name.
That's the difference.
robble robble robble FOXNEWS robble robble
Christians have been doing the same thing for centuries. There's no difference between Christian fundamentalism and Islamic fundamentalism. It just so happens that all you Muslim torture supporters are fighting for the White God, which you seem to think grants you a waiver of compliance with International and Humanitarian Law.
note to cheney: this would be a criminal investigation, not a "political investigation." there is not a political court to go to when one breaks the law; there is, however, an appropriate court to handle this case, a case in which there's clearly evidence that criminal (i.e. illegal, prosecutable) acts occurred (by any standard definition of torture). just, you know, stating the obvious, instead of stooping to his level to pretend he's talking about reality.
The strong impression that emerges from newly public documents on the agency’s interrogation program is of overwhelming control from Washington, not gung-ho operatives running wild.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/us/26prison.html
Darth Vader.
'nuff said.