Dear Senators - CIA Letter on Torture

by **NavnDansk** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 4:16 am

<a href="http://www.shadowmonkey.net/articles/general/dear-senators-cia-letter-on-torture.html">www.shadowmonkey.net/arti...rture.html</a> Dear Senators - CIA Letter on Torture Written by ShadowMonkey Friday, 29 September 2006 The letter below was sent to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders by the undersigned CIA, military, and FBI professionals on Tuesday, September 26, 2006. It is, perhaps, the clearest reasoning I have yet seen regarding reasons to not use torture in the fight against terrorism. Why still post this on ShadowMonkey when the House and Senate already passed legislation this week on this issue? Because nothing is set in stone; because elections are coming up; because we need to be aware of the advice that our Congress is ignoring. -sm [ Click here to see who in Congress voted for the Torture Bill ] [ more reading on this issue ] Tuesday 26 September 2006 United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Arlen Specter, Chairman The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Ranking Democratic Member Dear Senators: We write as experienced intelligence and military officers who have served in the frontlines in waging war against communism and Islamic extremism. We fully support the need for proactive operations to identify and disrupt those individuals and organizations who wish to harm our country or its people. We also recognize that intelligence operations, unlike law enforcement initiatives, enjoy more flexibility and less scrutiny, but at the same time must continue to be guided by applicable US law. We are very concerned that the proposals now before the Congress, concerning how to handle detainees suspected of terrorist activities, run the risk of squandering the greatest resource our country enjoys in fighting the dictators and extremists who want to destroy us — our commitment as a nation to the rule of law and the protection of divinely granted human rights. Apart from the moral considerations, we believe it is important that the Congress send a clear message that torture is not an effective or useful tactic. As noted recently by the head of Army Intelligence, Lt. Gen. John Kimmons: No good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices. I think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the last five years, hard years, tells us that. Our nation was created in response to the abuses visited on our ancestors by the King of England, who claimed the right to enter their homes, to levy taxes at whim, and to jail those perceived as a threat without allowing them to be confronted by their accusers. Now, 230 years later, we find our own President claiming the right to put people in detention centers without legal recourse and to employ interrogation methods that, by any reasonable legal standard, are categorized as torture. We ask that the Senate lead the way in upholding the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and affirmed in the Geneva Conventions regarding the rights of individuals and the obligations of governing authorities towards those in their power. We believe it is important to combat the hatred and vitriol espoused by Islamic extremists, but not at the expense of being viewed as a nation who justifies or excuses torture and incarceration without recourse to a judicial procedure. The US has been in the forefront of the human rights campaign throughout the 20th century, led by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The end of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust inspired the United States to take the lead in making the case that human rights were universal, not parochial. Until recently the policy of our country was that all people, not just citizens of the United States, were entitled to these protections. It is important that the world understand that we remain committed to these principles. In fighting our enemies we must wage this battle in harmony with the traditional values of our society that were enshrined in the opening clause of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident...." Respectfully yours, CIA Officers: Milton Bearden, Directorate of Operations Ray Close, Directorate of Operations Vincent Cannistraro, Directorate of Operations Philip Giraldi, Directorate of Operations James Marcinkowski, Directorate of Operations Melissa Mahle, Directorate of Operations Paul Pillar, Directorate of Intelligence David MacMichael, Directorate of Intelligence Melvin Goodman, Directorate of Intelligence Ray McGovern, Directorate of Intelligence Mary O. McCarthy, DCI professional staff US Military and Department of Defense: W. Patrick Lang, (Colonel, US Army retired, Director Defense Humint Services, retired) A. D. Ackels, (Colonel, US Army, retired) Karen Kwiatkowski, (Lt. Colonel, USAF, retired) US Department of State: Thomas R. Maertens, Deputy Coordinator, Office of Counter Terrorism, US Department of State Larry C Johnson, Office of Counter Terrorism, US Department of State Federal Bureau of Investigation: Christopher Whitcomb, Hostage Rescue Team

by **Dreams End** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:31 am

CIA needs to keep its own house in order. <blockquote>Quote:<hr> Nov. 18, 2005 — Harsh interrogation techniques authorized by top officials of the CIA have led to questionable confessions and the death of a detainee since the techniques were first authorized in mid-March 2002, ABC News has been told by former and current intelligence officers and supervisors. <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1322866">abc news</a><hr></blockquote> The photos from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison are snapshots, not of simple brutality or a breakdown in discipline, but of CIA torture techniques that have metastasized, over the past 50 years, like an undetected cancer inside the US intelligence community. <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/mccoy05292004.html">Counterpunch (!!)</a> And in case anyone would like to read the CIA's OWN manual on how to torture, you are invited to click <a href="http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB27/02-01.htm">here.</a> Where is the admission in the above letter to Congress that CIA itself has engaged in these and in fact was involved in Abu Ghraib? In any event, this gives me another post for my blog, so thanks for that, anyway.

by **Dreams End** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:21 pm

Here's the blog post on this letter, for those interested. As usual, I can't just cut and paste because the links won't work. <a href="http://dreamsend.wordpress.com/2006/10/03/cia-to-congress-the-president-cant-torture-peoplethats-our-job/#more-18">link</a>

by **robertdreed** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:44 pm

"Where is the admission in the above letter to Congress that CIA itself has engaged in these and in fact was involved in Abu Ghraib?" That's a good enough question that I think you ought to attempt to get an answer from some of the signers of the letter. I'd bet that some of them would be up for an interview, in fact. I don't get the idea that they're being snowed under by a blizzard of requests from the news media. Who do you trust more to do it than yourself? I think you could probably bring up any topic that you want, as long as it isn't phrased as a "when did you stop beating your wife" question. Actually, I think you could even get away with asking a question like that in the course of an interview (not the first question!), as long as you prefaced it by saying "I'm now going to ask you a question that you might consider a "when did you stop beating your wife' question..." and then went on to give your grounds for being wary of the continued culpability of the CIA... A live phone interview would be best. But an e-mail exchange could also work, if you could manage to respond with tactful but pointed follow-up questions. I've heard some of these people being interviewed. None of them come off in person as intimidating and hostile to inquiry as, say, Dewey Clarridge or Buck Revell. I don't think they'd drop the hammer on you, even if you brought up your impression of the character- or lack of it- of the CIA or Army Intelligence. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=robertdreed>robertdreed</A> at: 10/3/06 5:50 pm

by **coyotesouljah** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:37 pm

"Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right." - George W. Bush <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030626-3.html">www.whitehouse.gov/news/r...626-3.html</a>

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:51 pm

I suppose every voice against atrocity is to be welcomed. Really. But I recently heard Ray McGovern speak in a public setting and almost threw up when he made school-teacher-ish patronizing comments to the audience about the US Constitution. He is quite unctious in a public setting with little eye contact to the attending peace and justice community where many are wondering how the hell he got in the door to lead our attempts to roll back the world created by his ilk. The words 'CIA' and 'Constitution' are mutually exclusive. Notice the grandiose self-serving lies in the letter above: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>The US has been in the forefront of the human rights campaign throughout the 20th century, led by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The end of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust inspired the United States to take the lead in making the case that human rights were universal, not parochial.<hr></blockquote> And that's why the US trained the Savak, the DINA, runs the School of the Americas, overthrows elected populist governments, and sent Dan Mitrione around South America to teach torture techniques. Re: Dan Mitrione getting wires for torture sent in diplomatic pouches- <a href="http://members.aol.com/bblum6/uruguay.htm">members.aol.com/bblum6/uruguay.htm</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>"The precise pain, in the precise place, in the precise amount, for the desired effect," was his motto. During the session you have to keep the subject from losing all hope of life, because this can lead to stubborn resistance. "You must always leave him some hope ... a distant light." "When you get what you want, and I always get it," Mitrione continued, "it may be good to prolong the session a little to apply another softening-up. Not to extract information now, but only as a political measure, to create a healthy fear of meddling in subversive activities." The American pointed out that upon receiving a subject the first thing is to determine his physical state, his degree of resistance, by means of a medical examination. "A premature death means a failure by the technician ... It's important to know in advance if we can permit ourselves the luxury of the subject's death."{18} <hr></blockquote> Anyone who doesn't get their 20th century history from the US State Department or Disney (same thing-different audience) knows that the US has single-handedly prevented democracy, destroyed civic governments, spread terror and war and poverty like no other country. Hey, how about that 2004 coup in Haiti? God bless... Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=hughmanateewins>Hugh Manatee Wins</A> at: 10/3/06 10:01 pm

by **erosoplier** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:25 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right<hr></blockquote> Apart from the hypocricy factor of this statement coming from the mouth of W given its intended meaning, the point is, the statement is completely untrue. The "right" to freedom from torture is and forever will be alienable. It's something that will always have to be fought for, or at least defended. How can we all get it so very backwards? The sophists have obviously been at it for a very long time. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=erosoplier>erosoplier</A> at: 10/3/06 10:28 pm

by **NavnDansk** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:31 pm

Jeff stated it best in one of his articles that there is one level of CIA that is doing the job it is supposed to do and a dark level (bush senior land) that spends its time undoing the good work. Plame and/or Brewster Jenning (depending on your opinion of which side plame is on, brewster-jenning was destroyed by her outing) is the best known of this fact. Why would the CIA insist that a special prosecutor be assigned for the outing of this major CIA Middle-East asset that took so long to build and which was uncovering information about Iran that like previous CIA material showed the truth not the bush needed lies about Iraq's non-existent WMDs and which might through its real knowledge of Iran scotch the bush's lust to go to war with Iran. === Who gave the 1977 Church Committee the information to investigate the MK-ULTRA program? Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=navndansk>NavnDansk</A> at: 10/4/06 11:32 am

Dear Senators - CIA Letter on Torture

Dear Senators - CIA Letter on Torture

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