Waterboarding Works
That old meanie, George W. Bush, in his new book, Decision Points, answers all sorts of charges about his presidency. The tome is one long apology. He apologizes for the economy. He apologizes for the Iraq War. He apologizes for Hurricane Katrina. He apologizes for not finding the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He even apologizes for not catching a shoe an Iraqi journalist threw at him during a press conference.
One thing he doesn’t apologize for, however, is the order to water-board Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other terrorists.
The water-boarding, he tells the London Times, prevented attacks on Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf in London, and other, unnamed targets in the United States. The trio were the three toughest, and most determined of the CIA’s detainees. The CIA had nothing to lose by water-boarding them, and everything to lose by treating them with kid gloves.
The interrogators had no way of knowing where KSM was telling them the truth at the very first interrogation or not. How much was he holding back and how much was he exaggerating. As it turns out, though he’s an outlandish, larger than life villain-in-his-own mind, there wasn’t much that he was exaggerating about. But plenty that he was – and probably still is – holding back.
He’s been out of the picture now for seven years. The rules for the detainees, though, are extremely lax. With all the privileges they’re allowed, he probably knows more about what’s happening than the CIA and the Armed Forces do with all their sophisticated equipment.
There was a documentary on the other night, yet another on the mystery of where Osama Bin Laden is, and whether he actually is. If he’s alive, experts say, no one is going to take the bait of reward money. If he’s dead, they debate whether we’d know it or not. Upon his death, the U.S. assumes he’d be mourned as a martyr. Unless of course, he died a natural death, as one of his followers insists, and was buried heroically, but quietly.
Yet just a few weeks ago, the authorities received a tape from someone they reasonably believe to be Bin Laden. Was it posted posthumously, or is he still laughing at the world from some remote mountaintop village in Pakistan? There are no electronic clues because it’s said Bin Laden has become a modern-day Luddite, shunning all technology.
According to the documentary, it’s nearly impossible in those desert mountain regions to “sneak up” on him. Whether by helicopter or SUV, his minions can see the dust for miles before the hit squad arrives. The documentary notes that many notorious criminals were hunted down for years. In Bin Laden’s case, they’ve been hunting him since 1997 – or earlier.
However, if the military or the CIA were to capture some knowledgeable Pakistani tribesman, to rule out water-boarding in order to learn Bin Laden’s location would be complete insanity.
Intelligence-gathering is a results-oriented business. An interviewer on MSNBC, interviewing Bush, tried to make a parallel comparison: what if another country water-boarded one of our agents? Well, they do. That’s why the CIA and the military have water-board training, to train our guys to resist it.
When it comes to terrorists intent on killing innocent civilians, all’s fair in war and water-boarding.
One thing he doesn’t apologize for, however, is the order to water-board Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other terrorists.
The water-boarding, he tells the London Times, prevented attacks on Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf in London, and other, unnamed targets in the United States. The trio were the three toughest, and most determined of the CIA’s detainees. The CIA had nothing to lose by water-boarding them, and everything to lose by treating them with kid gloves.
The interrogators had no way of knowing where KSM was telling them the truth at the very first interrogation or not. How much was he holding back and how much was he exaggerating. As it turns out, though he’s an outlandish, larger than life villain-in-his-own mind, there wasn’t much that he was exaggerating about. But plenty that he was – and probably still is – holding back.
He’s been out of the picture now for seven years. The rules for the detainees, though, are extremely lax. With all the privileges they’re allowed, he probably knows more about what’s happening than the CIA and the Armed Forces do with all their sophisticated equipment.
There was a documentary on the other night, yet another on the mystery of where Osama Bin Laden is, and whether he actually is. If he’s alive, experts say, no one is going to take the bait of reward money. If he’s dead, they debate whether we’d know it or not. Upon his death, the U.S. assumes he’d be mourned as a martyr. Unless of course, he died a natural death, as one of his followers insists, and was buried heroically, but quietly.
Yet just a few weeks ago, the authorities received a tape from someone they reasonably believe to be Bin Laden. Was it posted posthumously, or is he still laughing at the world from some remote mountaintop village in Pakistan? There are no electronic clues because it’s said Bin Laden has become a modern-day Luddite, shunning all technology.
According to the documentary, it’s nearly impossible in those desert mountain regions to “sneak up” on him. Whether by helicopter or SUV, his minions can see the dust for miles before the hit squad arrives. The documentary notes that many notorious criminals were hunted down for years. In Bin Laden’s case, they’ve been hunting him since 1997 – or earlier.
However, if the military or the CIA were to capture some knowledgeable Pakistani tribesman, to rule out water-boarding in order to learn Bin Laden’s location would be complete insanity.
Intelligence-gathering is a results-oriented business. An interviewer on MSNBC, interviewing Bush, tried to make a parallel comparison: what if another country water-boarded one of our agents? Well, they do. That’s why the CIA and the military have water-board training, to train our guys to resist it.
When it comes to terrorists intent on killing innocent civilians, all’s fair in war and water-boarding.
posted by Belle | 6:30 AM
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