CIA: Waterboarding used on 3 suspects

[Xiahou]

"Waterboarding has been used on only three detainees," Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee. It was the first time a U.S. official publicly specified the number of people subjected to waterboarding and named them.

Critics call waterboarding a form of illegal torture. Congress is considering banning the technique.

Those subjected to waterboarding were suspected September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and senior al Qaeda leaders Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Hayden said at the hearing on threats to the United States.

He said waterboarding has not been used in five years.

"The circumstances are different than they were in late 2001, early 2002," Hayden said. "Very critical to those circumstances was the belief that additional catastrophic attacks against the homeland were imminent. In addition to that, my agency ... had limited knowledge about al Qaeda and its workings. Those two realities have changed."

Hayden told reporters later that the interrogations of Mohammed and Zubaydah were particularly fruitful.

link

[CrossLOPER]

Define "fruitful".

[Lemur]

If this proves to be true, I'm going to be very relieved.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

If this proves to be true, I'm going to be very relieved.

Yeah, but it's going to be hard for them to prove to me that waterboarding has only been used three times.

[Tribesman]

Define "fruitful".

fruitful is when KSM admitted to planning or participating in every outrage that was committed over the past 20+ years .

Yeah, but it's going to be hard for them to prove to me that waterboarding has only been used three times.

Its gonna be harder for you to prove oherwise since the CIA have been destroying evidence .

[Xiahou]

If this proves to be true, I'm going to be very relieved.

Much ado about nothing comes to mind. We previously heard reports that coercive interrogations were used by the CIA on 14 suspects. Now, apparently, we learn that: actual waterboarding was used only on 3 of the worst; that it was in the aftermath of 9/11; and that it yielded useful intelligence. I think that very few Americans would have a problem with this.

They should've just came out and said this earlier. Could they not do so due to intelligence reasons, due to incompetent leadership or what?

[Lemur]

Well, I would wait a while before breaking out the party favors. Some sort of independent confirmation of this would be really nice, especially given the CIA's recent track record.

[Papewaio]

That it was in the aftermath of 9/11; and that it yielded useful intelligence.

If that intelligence is going on 7 years old surely and that Al Qaeda definitly know we are hunting them down, can't the intelligence gathered be revealed? Like the initial locations or list of connections that have been whacked? Since AQ would know which places have already been raided and which ones have died. Why not join the dots to this used intelligence?

[HoreTore]

They should've just came out and said this earlier. Could they not do so due to intelligence reasons, due to incompetent leadership or what?

That it has taken so long to come out with this makes me extremely skeptical about the truth in this.

EDIT: Also:

Those subjected to waterboarding were suspected September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

He said waterboarding has not been used in five years.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed following his March 2003 arrest.

Is the poor CIA boss having trouble with his math again?

[Husar]

Ah well, since they are those really bad guys, it's okay I guess, they're less human than those with the belts strapped on. They just did it on the evil masterminds...
If they didn't use it for five years I guess they switched to another technique five years ago.

[CountArach]

If this proves to be true, I'm going to be very relieved.

Come on Lemur, the CIA has never lied to people...

[Vladimir]

If it's good enough for the Navy, it's good enough for detainees.

[seireikhaan]

I don't trust the CIA to be truthful regarding an investigation of their own practices. Frankly, I think its a lie to cover up a larger number of waterboarding uses on captives, and that this just made a plausable, yet not all that outrageous, lie.

HOWEVER, that being said, IF this is true, than I'd be willing to offer a pardon, as I could understand, in those times, why they would've been extra detirmined to get information. HOWEVER, I still think its torture and should not be practiced.

[Lemur]

Hmm. There's a bit of a trajectory here. From "We do not torture," to "Waterboarding isn't torture," to "Waterboarding might be torture," to "We only did it a little when we were flustered, and it worked great!"

I definitely want more info, and from more sources.