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February 13, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 2, 2009
/ 13 Elul 5769
Cheney wins interrogation argument
By
Robert Robb
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The only fair conclusion from the CIA interrogation documents released last week is
that former Vice President Dick Cheney largely won his argument with President
Barack Obama about enhanced techniques.
The reports indicate that most of the most valuable information came from high-value
detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, including the
revelation of numerous plots and terrorists whose names were not previously known to
the CIA.
The reports do not clearly say that the information resulted from the enhanced
interrogation techniques, but the implication is quite clear. The CIA initially
sought approval for EITs because it felt that Abu Zubaydah was withholding
information about terrorist networks and plots. The CIA Inspector General's report
describes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the terrorist who came up with the idea for 9/11,
as not forthcoming before EITs were used.
There were 10 enhanced interrogation techniques approved. Only one, waterboarding,
can even remotely be described as torture. Waterboarding simulates drowning and
induces an involuntary panic response.
However, another clear implication from the CIA documents is that it was
waterboarding that made the difference. So, we cannot escape the moral issue
presented by the use of the technique and the information it produced.
The first thing these documents should do is to substantially narrow the range of
the debate. Previously, the argument was frequently made that rough interrogation
techniques don't work, that detainees make stuff up to get the physical and
psychological discomfort to go away.
With respect to these particular interrogation techniques, that argument is
impossible to sustain in the light of the CIA documents. Important, accurate
information was revealed that allowed terrorist plots to be thwarted and terrorists
to be captured.
President Obama was careful not to make that argument. Instead, his argument has
been that simply because EITs produced information doesn't mean that the same
information couldn't have been produced without EITs.
That's true, and will always be so. You can't prove that something that wasn't done
wouldn't have worked.
But the documents cast doubt on the claim that the same information could have been
elicited without EITs, particularly waterboarding. The record is unclear about how
long standard techniques were used on the three detainees eventually waterboarded.
Given the lawyering that went on before EITs were approved for use on Zubaydah,
standard techniques were presumably being tried for a reasonable period. The CIA
appears to have been pretty quick in moving to EITs with Mohammed, however.
The best evidence, although inconclusive, is that EITs, particularly waterboarding,
produced information that standard interrogation techniques didn't.
I can understand the Obama administration taking the position that waterboarding is
torture and won't be used even if the record indicates that it worked. What I can't
understand is it changing responsibility for interrogating terrorist detainees and
prosecuting CIA operatives who conducted these interrogations.
The CIA produced results, operating within the rules it was given. Nevertheless, the
Obama administration has transferred interrogation responsibility from it to the
FBI, whose post-9/11 record is far more spotty, with direct oversight by the White
House.
The CIA did occasionally color outside the lines in its interrogations. A mock
execution was staged. A gun and power drill brandished. Mohammed was told his
children would be killed if there was another attack in the United States.
This was outside the lines. But none of it is close to putting people on the rack,
or merits the prosecution of CIA interrogators taking risks to protect us.
We have a CIA, in part, because there is some nasty stuff in the world that needs to
be dealt with. Spooks and cops playing rough to get important information from bad
guys is a staple of our fiction.
In real life, however, we don't like to think about it.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Robert Robb is a columnist for The Arizona Republic. Comment by clicking here.
Robert Robb Archives
© 2009, The Arizona Republic
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