Telling the Truth About CIA Torture

By Ali Soufan
March 15, 2018

It is a matter of public record that Gina Haspel, President Trump’s nominee to be the next director of the CIA, played a key role in the agency’s now-defunct program of “enhanced interrogation techniques”—an Orwellian euphemism for a system of violence most Americans would recognize as torture. Indeed, Haspel was in charge of one of the agency’s secret “black sites” where at least two detainees were tortured. I know firsthand how brutal these techniques were—and how counterproductive. In 2002, I interrogated an al-Qaeda associate named Abu Zubaydah. Using tried-and-true nonviolent interrogation methods, we extracted a great deal of valuable intelligence from Zubaydah—including the identities of the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the would-be “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla, both of whom would be arrested shortly after. Yet some officials later tried to manipulate the record to make it seem as if this intelligence was gained through torture, even going so far as to misstate the date of Padilla’s arrest, which in fact occurred before Zubaydah or any other al-Qaeda suspect was waterboarded. Against this backdrop, it is reasonable to ask the nominee: What does she think about the techniques used under her supervision? Did she condone torture at the time, or was she just following a superior’s orders? How, if at all, have her feelings changed over the years? Does she stand behind the attempts to mislead the public as to the techniques’ effectiveness?

These are important questions, and they will need to be explored in detail at Haspel’s confirmation hearing. But the fact that Haspel once presided over torture is actually not the most troubling aspect of her record; for it is also an established fact that she later participated in an attempt to cover up the torture techniques. In 2005, Jose Rodriguez, the CIA’s counterterrorism chief, ordered the destruction of some 92 videotapes of the harsh methods being used on al-Qaeda suspects that the black site Haspel had once run. Rodriguez issued this order in defiance not only of the CIA’s own general counsel at the time, John Rizzo, but also of a federal court order. And to draft the cable ordering the tapes to be thrown into an “industrial-strength shredder,”Rodriguez turned to his then-chief of staff—Haspel. In the short time since Haspel’s nomination came to light, a number of her agency colleagues have praised her as a great operative and administrator. That may well be the case; but truly great people can admit to their mistakes and engage in a discussion of how best to avoid them in future. The same goes for truly great nations. It would be nice to think that the upcoming confirmation hearings might help turn the tide back toward accountability.

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Rogue Valley said:

Telling the Truth About CIA Torture

Ali Soufan was a multilingual FBI agent assigned to interrogate high value prisoners (HVPs) captured in the Middle East. He used strictly non-coercive FBI techniques and was very successful. He also watched CIA "enhanced interrogation" (torture) methods at Bagram air base in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He informed the FBI and US Govt. about the CIA renditions and torture. He resigned in 2005 after chastising the CIA for not sharing information with him pre-9/11. Soufan testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee for its hearing on CIA torture in 2009. The author of two best selling books on the WoT, Soufan also founded the Soufan Group which provides strategic security intelligence services to governments and multinational organizations.

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apdst said:

The CIA couldn't share intel with the FBI prior to 9/11. He should have chastised Bill Clinton for that.

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cuban smokes said:

Clinton? Whataboutism much?

9/11 happened nearly 8 months into GW's watch; Bush & the GOP own 9/11 ................ and The Great Recession ..............

Glad you know the truth now ...........

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apdst said:

Clinton made it illegal for the FBI and CIA to share intel. It's called "historical fact". Soufan should know that. If he wants to be taken seriously, he should point that out.

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cuban smokes said:

what a complete load of unmitigated bull**** ................ more Clinton Whataboutisms .............. that's all U got?

read the document from page 31 forward ............... and be sure to read the 'Conclusion' .............

https://fas.org/irp/eprint/wall.pdf

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apdst said:

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/apr/15/20040415-094758-5267r/

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