BRUTAL REALITY: AMERICA IS NO BETTER THAN THE “TERRORISTS”
By FITSNEWS || The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) lied to Congress about its “enhanced interrogation techniques,” a new report released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence revealed. Shocked? Don’t be … the spy agency was busted a few months ago lying about its efforts to snoop on the very U.S. Senators who prepared this report.
According to the document, the agency misled Congress not only about the true extent of its torture programs – but also about the value of the information these programs produced. Long story short? America’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” were far more savage than originally reported – and far less effective in gleaning actionable intelligence.
Case in point? The intelligence leading to the May 2011 killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was obtained from “a CIA detainee who had not yet been subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation technique,” the report revealed. Additionally, detainees who were subjected to these techniques “withheld and fabricated information” about the al-Qaeda courier who ultimately exposed bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Hell, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – the alleged mastermind of the September 2001 terrorist attacks – was subjected to simulated drowning nearly 200 times and still provided false statements to his captors.
Other choice nuggets from the report? Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on the formulation of the torture techniques to be employed on detainees – and on legal protections aimed at protecting the torturers.
“In 2006, the value of the CIA’s base contract with the company formed by the psychologists with all options exercised was in excess of $180 million; the contractors received $81 million prior to the contract’s termination in 2009,” the report revealed. “In 2007, the CIA provided a multi-year indemnification agreement to protect the company and its employees from legal liability arising out of the program. The CIA has since paid out more than $1 million pursuant to the agreement.”
One possible reason? Dozens of detainees subjected to torture were later determined to have been held erroneously … meaning they were tortured for no reason.
“Detainees often remained in custody for months after the CIA determined they should not have been detained,” the report revealed.
Hell, the agency accidentally tortured its own informants on several occasions.
Congress wasn’t the only branch of government kept in the dark about the brutality of the program.
“The CIA provided incomplete and inaccurate information to the White House regarding the operation and effectiveness of the detention and interrogation program,” a committee document on the report states. “In addition to inaccurate statements provided to other policymakers, there were instances in which specific questions from White House officials were not answered truthfully or completely.”
Former president George W. Bush defended the $300 million program – calling those who administered it “patriots.” Meanwhile former vice president Dick Cheney said the program was not only authorized but “reviewed legally by the Justice Department” before it was undertaken.
Really?
Our government put people in dungeons. It beat them. It deprived them of food and water. It played Russian Roulette with them. It threatened to slit the throats of their family members. It waterboarded them. Pretended to bury them alive. Used insects on them. Killed at least one of them during the torture.
How is any of that “just?”
Astoundingly, the report refuses to classify any of these actions as “illegal” or even admit they rose to the level of “torture” – thus perpetuating an ongoing state of denial that’s almost as insidious as the acts themselves.
More to the point America’s torture program – like its drone attack program and its ongoing “War on Terror” – has not made our country safer. If anything, it has incited anti-Americanism around the globe (and rightfully so). In fact the CIA argued against the public release of the report – arguing it would incite violence against America.
It should … and guess what: Any violence it incites, America deserves.
To say the revelations contained in the report are appalling is an understatement. They are a repudiation of everything America is supposed to stand for – not to mention an open invitation for our enemies to pay us back in spades.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: America has an obligation to defend itself from credible threats to the national security (and to do so using overwhelming force). We’ve never seen the virtue of proportional responses when dealing with those who seek to kill American citizens – and we welcome intervention abroad that’s justified.
But this sort of savagery?
It is beneath a great nation … and is further evidence of how far America has fallen from the ideals upon which it was founded.
CIA TORTURE REPORT (.pdf)
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101 comments
Got-Damned Motherfuckers must pay!
I read where the people at the black sites kept informing the CIA top dogs that the intel they demanded didn’t exist. To which they were told to keep at it. It also sounds like they had some sadistic personnel working at the sites, that shouldn’t have been working for the CIA at all.
Seriously, how many times can you waterboard someone before the lightbulb comes on that this isn’t working or the person doesn’t know anything. Waterboarded 183 times, OMG.
The manual says 180, but I think three times they ran low on water so they had to do a do-over.
Torture is six years without any qualified leadership for our Nation from the White House or Capital Hill, and eight years of drunken looters before this.
If that’s your definition of torture, then you live a very pampered life, son.
First world problems.
I say we give him all of his taxes back over the last 15 years if he will undergo what these detainees did. I want it all on camera though. It will make a great reality show. We will let him out after a year if he has not confessed to the murder of Jimmy Hoffa by then.
Role of CIA, get him to confess by all means necessary, but only the means Bush and Cheney said they could use. If he does confess, then its Guantanamo for life.
I guess you missed the part about the CIA lying…
muslim Obama sends ‘drones’ to kill people and their families ( pretending he doesn’t support ISIS and the muslim brotherhood) yet our CIA seeks to protect our citizens by feeding the terrorists ‘ensure’ for nutrition and all hell breaks loose.
Go figure.
If Obama were NOT sending drones, you would be attacking him for it.
Fine, you pay for it.
Torture is six PLUS years with ever higher taxes, killing small businesses, AND no qualified leadership.
That was very well put Will. I spent time in the military and my son is serving now. If any of our soldiers or sailors were treated the same way our country would be up in arms and we would be demanding war crimes trials.
You don’t think our POW’s over the past 50 years have been subject to this or worse? Ask a Vietnam War POW what he thinks of the North Vietnamese? Ask any WWII POW what he thinks of the Japanese or Germans? If you think this is all Hogan’s Heroes, you’re out of your fucking mind.
Agreed … But two wrongs … ?
‘two wrongs’? You don’t recall those people jumping off ‘towers’ on FIRE on 9/11? 3,000 dead?
Shame on you for siding with the terrorists.
Shame on you for siding with Nazi’s you dumbass. “Amerikans” like you give the rest of us a bad name, and make it more dangerous for those of use who often travel overseas. People like you, who never even leave the Southeast, think you’re so tough. How about we waterboaurd your wife, and maybe a little gang rape. Hey, it’s all fair in love and war.
You fucking low life.Go ahead and take your homosexual perverted ass overseas-bet your terrorist buddies will fuck ya before they cut your head off for being a queer.
What’s your hang up with Muslims and queers. I think you have something to hit – what – you have wet dreams of Obama?
CIA was close to finding out who muslim Obama really is and why they shut the program down?
It’s not about two wrongs. It’s about do becoming what THEY are, lowering our values and beliefs because Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld didn’t believe we could ‘win’ against them any other way.
You lib/socialist fucktard? Values? A Democrat with ‘values’? Don’t exist anymore.
Win? If pussy’s like McCain and other leftist RINO’s would get out of the way, America MIGHT survive.
I have more respect for Jane Fonda ,than John McCain.
These people just hate America and won’t be happy until our cities are in flames and we are nuked.
Oh the drama. Get a life that at least has some footing in the real world. Till then stay home and hide.
Though, of course, waterboarding IS part of basic training.
Did you read the report? They basically drowned one of them and brought him back by CPR. That is not part of basic training anywhere. I have been to basic training and there was nothing remotely like what was done to several of these men. Just because other countries did the same or worse doesn’t excuse what we did. We had war crimes trials of the Japanese after WW2 and one of the crimes some were convicted of was for torture of prisoners. They too explained their justification as gathering of intelligence. We were the ones who prosecuted them. But I guess to some it doesn’t matter if we do it too? I love my country but we are not perfect and this will go down in history as one of our low points.
Fuck you, ISIS, Obama and the muslim brotherhood?
You don’t love your country. Shame on you.
Are you this dumb in real life?
yes she is..
“We had war crimes trials of the Japanese after WW2 and one of the crimes some were convicted of was for torture of prisoners.”
Oh it’s better than that, we had Japs hung for water boarding.
Very well put? Fuck American haters like Will and you that revel in America being compared to Nazi Germany and ISIS.
Always love when a lib/socialist hides behind their own/children’s military service to hide their disdain for this country.
Get yourself a cucumber and some wesson.
Your boyfrend likes that, huh?
You taught me that trick.
Interesting non-denial.
Well, don’t we Americans look like first-world Huns.
Even better – we all Mengel-ed now.
Well, certainly Gurbered now.
…and in other news,
Southern states use the most opioids
Per capita or in total?
Looking at longer-term use of narcotic pain medications across the
United States, the highest prevalence of use occurs in small cities in
the U.S., particularly in the southeast region of the country.
Of the 25 cities with the highest prevalence of longer-term opioid use,
24 have populations fewer than 100,000. The Express Scripts research
also found that cities with the largest proportion of their residents using
opiate painkillers were clustered in just four states in the southeast:
Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas. These four states claim 41
of the 50 cities with the highest prevalence of opioid use nationwide.
The average prevalence rate of opioid use for these four states was
7.6% as compared to 3.9% nationally. Among small cities with a
population of less than 28,000, the top five with the highest prevalence
rates in the nation had between 12.3% and 18% of their population
using opioids on a longer-term basis in 2013, compared to an average
5.1% for small cities overall.
Residents ages 45-64 make up the highest proportion of users in
these high prevalence cities. In contrast to the high prevalence of use
found in small cities, the most populated American cities have opioid
rates below the national average. While these large urban centers
have a lower percentage of people taking opioids, they have a higher
proportion of users taking very high doses of the drug
… and those jazz musicians?
“Shocker: The CIA Lied”
Spy agencies are not supposed to be lying. Oh! Wait! My bad. That’s what we pay them for. To lie and keep secrets…
Those who reveal secrets like Snowden and Bradley/Chelsea Manning and Feinstein we call traitors.
I know, fucked up isn’t it? Heroes are traitors and war criminals are running free. We should do something about it.
So, you just believe the CIA should do what it’s director thinks it should do with no oversight or direction from the legislative, executive or judicial branches?
Any other agencies run by presidential appointees you feel that way about?
Does ISIS give you better health insurance than hitler jr.?
That why you are supporting America’s enemies?
Why did we torture them? Because they are trying to kill us. Oh. Why are they trying to kill us? Because we torture them. Oh. why did we torture them? Because they’re trying to kill us. Oh. Why are they trying to kill us? Because we torture them. Who’s on first? Exactly.
So can we throw Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc in jail now? Oh wait, the assholes here will defend this shit. Great Americans you all are.
Those assholes and Fox News…always Fox News.
Fox News has already stated that the Torture Report was released to distract the public from focusing on the failures of Obamacare. A piece of work those guys. They don’t earn the name Fake News for nothing.
BummerCare? … And that’s true as well … Come on now, you can handle two or even three big news events in one night … Or maybe not if all you are feed is PBS snooze. (They don’t call it Pablum and Bull Shit for no good reason.)
“BummerCare? ”
You’re a fucking idiot.
What an idiot! You definitely belong in SC.
Been no water boarding for 11 years? Why now?
Is there any doubt this report was released BEFORE the CIA’s techniques found out who muslim Obama and the radicals running the WH really are?
I’ll take a Muslim leader over the war criminals who preceded him.
Tell the voices to quit down for a bit, as you are too fucking stupid to lie and listen to the voices in your head.
Covuto, O’Reilly and Napolitano plus many other of the talking heads there are all running lengthy spots on this … and the failure of the manure spewing media’s lack of oversight of CIA/NSA/industrial complex’ culpability in that …
“Covuto, O’Reilly and Napolitano plus many other of the talking heads there are all running lengthy spots on this . . . .”
You’re a fucking idiot.
Nice comment. Do you work for Ron /Rand Paul (Rand is better at disguising his bigoted and racist views)and ISIS? They both hate Christians and Jews.
Ron Paul hates Jews?
lol, someone should have told his friend Murray Rothbard.
Oh. He just hates ‘niggers’? Read his racist shit, boy.
So you’re admitting that you’re wrong boy?
Can’t wait for Tango go chime in – point out to use what a bunch of liberal homo-lovers we are and that we don’t deserve the freedom he got for use when he was raping other men in prisons in Turkey and Syria. Wait, Syria? Aren’t they who we’re bombing now?
He’ll need to finish that Kraft Mac & Cheese first, then tell you it’s a liberal cover-up due to the Nov. mid-terms…
except…she never served a day in her life. Not a single day.
That dumb twat is being verwee verwee quiet on this one.
During my Navy tour in DC I was invited to a public building in the DC area. My guide took me, at one point, to a small room off of a short hallway. This room had a one-way wall of glass where we watched and listened to two guys dressed in different uniforms. One was seated and never got up out of his chair, while the other questioned him. A lot of screaming, cursing, table pounding and such went on by the guy standing.
I asked what was this about. I was told this was some kind of training for interrogation methods, and that both guys were US Army. One guy was training in various interrogation methods, and the other guy was training in resistance to interrogation. Later they would be part of a group sent to a mock military garrison where everyone would take part as both prisoner and interrogator. Then they would be sent as advisors to some country that he didn’t know the name of. That’s all he knew about it.
Is Hannity going to do the waterboard challange now to prove it’s not torture?
Well since its not torture, I think he should be forced to do undergo it.
That silly douche couldn’t take an Indian burn from third grader. Fuck him.
“Is Hannity going to do the waterboard challange now to prove it’s not torture?”
if you recall Weenie Hannity took a few days off when he was offered that challenge.
But of course he is a big, macho man – I mean he does toss footballs around as they go to commercial break on his show! LOL
That and points M-60 machine guns at little Central American kids at the US-Mexican border, standing along toughy-in-gay-glasses Rick Perry.
We do agree on this. Why are people still defending these crimes against humanity?
Like the 60,000,000 aborted babies since Roe V. Wade?
Too bad you didn’t contribute to that statistic. Of course you only care about fetuses, fuck ’em after they’re born. Right?
So if we stop torturing our prisoners, can we at least video tape us cutting their heads off like they do?
How many of the people who were tortured cut anyone’s head off?
Four, by last count. The jury is still out on the tortured ones recently released by O’bama
Oh boy, that’s a real dumb statement.
This article has a picture of Obama standing close enough to get Dubya cooties . . . because?
The CIA engaged in these practices because Bush and Cheney’s “lawyers” told them it was “legal”.
Great “news” sources Esquire and the Rolling Stone…
Much more reliable sources than the Fake News network. I’ll bet there is more misinformation or disinformation on Fox every day than on those sources in a year.
Well this is fascinating information from the Senate’s report pertaining to President George W. Bush:
“The presentation also noted that the President of the United States had directed that he not be informed of the locations of the CIA detention facilities to ensure that he would not accidentally disclose the information.”
I sure am glad we trusted him with the nuclear (or as he would say nuclr) codes. Fortunately none of our enemies had an opportunity to subject him to enhanced interrogation techniques.
Big deal.This goes on every day in prisons across the US,which have become the new treatment facility warehouses for the mentally ill.Innocent people die every day.
THANK YOU Senator Feinstein for making this report happen – and I see that Fits conveniently did not give you any credit – if you only had that “R” after your name Fits would have been crowing about you efforts – although we all know that FITS AIN’T No REPUBLICAN – am I right, (the poster named) FITS AIN’T NO REPUBLICAN?
Dems LOVE abortion and drones to kill innocent humans.
Hey Sandi – you still slithering around here???
Sanford lied to his children and wrecked the lives of his family and screwed the state of South Carolina.
The CIA saved thousands – if not millions- of lives, and had my permission to tell me anything they wanted in manipulating brutal terrorist murderers. …The CIA could not have lied to me, because I did not care what they did to enemy combatants in defending my country…. I’m just glad I did not have to do it.
FITS shilled for the liar…who do think is the bigger POS…Sanford, the CIA or FITS?
I agree Jenny wrecked the lives of her children and family. Not sure she screwed the state of South Carolina. Maybe had she been willing to ride the pony a bit more Mark wouldn’t have had to go looking for some Latina love. And then she managed to ruin that for him as well.
Nothing was more brutal and savage than watching Americans jump out of a burning World Trade Center. Fuck those prisoners.
“Fuck those prisoners.”
Well, that’s the key isn’t it? Most are prisoners, having yet to be convicted, yet tortured under the assumption of guilt. Not a great day for America, especially in the context that 15 of the 19 were Saudi’s and most of the prisoners were not.
So i take it you would be ok with tortured, for anything any US Citizen has ever done.
‘and guess what: Any violence it incites, America deserves.’
Oh my!!! What does this mean? FITS is advocating for the destruction of America?
How sad.
I hate Edward Snowden’s journalist friend Glen Greenwald. But, on TV just now, he made the most pertinent of points about all this.
Politicians are getting up and discussing the effectiveness of torture, the policy of it. But, no matter how they feel about whether it works or should be used, torture is against American and international laws. It is illegal across the globe. And, they just ignore that.
So, all these GOP politicians whining about Obama’s lawlessness and the release of this report are showing that they don’t care about lawlessness when they are doing the illegal killing and maiming and rectal infusions.
And, hey, WWJD?
There was never any doubt in my mind. When I discussed this with supporters of the regime (you know, the real patriots), they told me that I hated America. I think I’m at least owed an apology.
It just occurred to me what DiFi is really after, she wants to dismantle the CIA. This is her opening salvo in that war. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/politics/senate-cia/
Apparently your recent pro-secessionist post gives the CIA more reason to subject you to enhanced interrogation techniques than they had for many of the people who were rotting in torture chambers for years.
Feinstein has been as co-opted by the CIA as most politicians over the decades. Perhaps, they went just way too far with their lawlessness this time.
And, I’m curious, should an executive branch agency be hacking into the computers of the legislative branch that is supposed to provide oversight and keep them on the straight and narrow?
One thing this thread proves, most commenters are just as political as the report.
When is the USC/Miami game?
We called it torture when other countries do it. But, it’s OK when we do it. Typical Republican Christianist hypocrisy.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/12/11/us-called-out-foreign-regimes-as-cia-used-same-torture-methods/