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Title: Obama: CIA interrogators won't face charges
Source:
USA Today
URL Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washin ... -04-16-cia-waterboarding_N.htm
Published: Apr 17, 2009
Author: Richard Wolf and Peter Eisler
Post Date: 2009-04-17 12:47:23 by Rotara
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Keywords: None
Views: 1041
Comments: 57
Interrogation techniques approved in 2002 by the Justice Department and detailed in memos released Thursday: Attention grasp: "Grasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion." Walling: A fake, flexible wall is built, and the suspect is pulled forward and "then quickly and firmly" pushed against the wall. "The idea is to create a sound that will make the impact seem far worse than it is." Facial grasp: "Used to hold the head immobile. One open palm is placed on either side of the individual's face." Insult slap: "The purpose of the facial slap is to induce shock, surprise and/or humiliation." Cramped confinement: The suspect is placed in a confined space that "is usually dark." Some spaces allow a subject only to sit down; confinement in those spaces "lasts for no more than two hours." Wall standing: Subjects are forced to lean with only their fingers for support against a wall 4 to 5 feet away from their bodies in a tactic "used to induce muscle fatigue." Stress positions: They include "kneeling on the floor while leaning back at a 45-degree angle" and "sitting on the floor with legs extended out in front of him with his arms raised above his head." Sleep deprivation: This is meant to "reduce the individual's ability to think on his feet and, through the discomfort associated with lack of sleep, to motivate him to cooperate." Insects placed in a confinement box: The subject is placed in "a cramped confinement box" and told a stinging insect will be placed in the box with him. Instead, a harmless insect, "such as a caterpillar," is placed inside. Waterboarding: The subject is placed on a board with a cloth covering his nose and mouth. The cloth is saturated with water to simulate drowning. It creates "the perception of 'suffocation and incipient panic.' " Source: Justice Department Responding to a deadline in a court case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Obama administration released four Justice Department memos providing a legal rationale for techniques the ACLU and other critics likened to torture — and that Obama has since ended by executive order. Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder said CIA interrogators would not be held accountable because their actions had been sanctioned by the Justice Department. Holder also said the government would defend them against any lawsuits and seek to indemnify them against monetary judgments. "This is a time for reflection, not retribution," Obama said in a statement. "We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past." Whether to release the memos had been the subject of debate for weeks. Obama decided to put them out because much of the information had been publicized. Even so, he still defended "maintaining the classified nature of secret activities." Many of the techniques used by CIA operatives against top 9/11 terrorism suspects, including Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had been acknowledged in recent years, some by President George W. Bush himself. However, the CIA destroyed videos documenting the tactics' use. The newly released memos shed light on approved tactics. For instance, they authorized interrogators to confine Zubaydah in a small box with an insect he believed could sting him — a technique intended to play on his fear of bugs. They allowed captives to be kept awake for up to 180 hours. The memos also set parameters for waterboarding, which simulates drowning; they discuss ways to avoid injuring captives when shoving them into flexible walls; and they detail limits on forcing prisoners into stressful positions and confining them in small, dark places. A March 2005 memo says 28 of 94 CIA detainees were exposed to enhanced interrogations in "varying degrees." A May 2005 memo cautions that using several techniques in tandem could, in some circumstances, violate prohibitions against torture. CIA Director Leon Panetta, in a letter to his employees, said the Justice Department "guided CIA's detention and interrogation program." Panetta noted it was approved by Bush and his top national security staff. Lawmakers who fought for the memos' release applauded. "The legal analysis and some of the techniques in these memos are truly shocking," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. "Hopefully, these practices have been ended for all time." Marc Thiessen, former chief speech writer for Bush, called Obama's action "outrageous" because it gives al-Qaeda the chance to practice resistance. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero criticized the decision not to prosecute those who authorized and conducted the interrogations. "There can be no more excuses for putting off criminal investigations of officials who … broke the law," he said. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll in late January found that nearly two-thirds of Americans favored investigations into the torture allegations. Four in 10 wanted criminal probes. Contributing: David Jackson, Kevin Johnson, Jill Lawrence and Donna Leinwand Poster Comment: Change that can kill you.
EnlargeBy Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP Protesters demonstrate waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, Nov. 5, 2007, on volunteer Maboud Ebrahim Zadeh in front of the Justice Department in Washington. 
By Richard Wolf and Peter Eisler, USA TODAY
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 38.
#10. To: Rotara (#0)
If this logic is reasonable for government officials, then we should be able to use this defense in any court.
If this logic is reasonable for government officials, then we should be able to use this defense in any court. Excellent. I've brought up that same concept before. It only works for whore lawyers and politicians of course.
And in the mean time, Obama's justice department is busy deporting an 89 year old wheelchair bound German for supposed crimes during WWII.
But for the Zionist Jews in my tagline, Obama's justice department would not be busy deporting an 89 year old wheelchair bound German for supposed crimes during WWII. Don't you agree, Rotara?
If every ZJew were dead tomorrow and israel dried up and blew away, you'd still have a large cast of luciferian world orderists INSIDE ameriKa to deal with. You do know this, don't you wbales ?
No, there would not be that many and those few left left wouldn't own the media, government and financial institutions and could be ignored and/or readily defeated.
I was going to throw the rockefuckers at you ... then I discovered they come from the same tribe.
Have you read The International Jew by Henry Ford?
I reckon you're going to recommend it. ;-)
#40. To: Rotara (#38)
(Edited)
So, is that a yes or a no? I guess that's a no.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest"This is a time for reflection, not retribution," Obama said in a statement. "We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past."
#17. To: Pinguinite (#10)
"This is a time for reflection, not retribution," Obama said in a statement. "We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past."
#21. To: IndieTX, Christine, Rotara (#17)
#28. To: Pinguinite, Rotara (#21)
And in the mean time, Obama's justice department is busy deporting an 89 year old wheelchair bound German for supposed crimes during WWII.
#29. To: wbales (#28)
Don't you agree, Rotara?
#32. To: Rotara (#29)
If every ZJew were dead tomorrow and israel dried up and blew away, you'd still have a large cast of luciferian world orderists INSIDE ameriKa to deal with.
#34. To: wbales (#32)
No, there would not be that many and those few left left wouldn't own the media, government and financial institutions and could be ignored and/or readily defeated.
#37. To: Rotara (#34)
#38. To: wbales (#37)
No
Replies to Comment # 38. I reckon you're going to recommend it.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 38.