Official: Gitmo Detainee Was Tortured
By Wyatt Earp | January 15, 2009
Regular readers of SYLG know exactly what I think of this story, but I’ll post my comments anyway.
A Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo Bay says the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Washington Post reported.
Yeah? And??
“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” Susan J. Crawford told the Post. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.
“The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual,” she told the Post. “This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for.”
Did it work? I would say it is a win if the interrogators got any viable information from Qahtani.
Interrogation techniques used on Qahtani included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold. He was hospitalized twice.
But he is still alive, right? So what’s the problem here?
Qahtani, allegedly planning to be the plot’s 20th hijacker, was interrogated from November 2002 to January 2003 after being captured in Afghanistan. (H/T - FOXNews)
Maybe I am just cynical and hardened after 14 years as a Philadelphia police officer, but I have no problem with this. None. Qahtani allegedly helped plan the 9-11 attacks, and unlike most of the mainstream media, I have not forgotten what happened that day. Maybe a lot of people will participate in condemnation and hand-wringing, but I will not be one of them. Maybe that makes me a heartless bastard, maybe not
In my opinion, torturing one man who had a hand in the deaths of 3,000 Americans is acceptable. My only problem with this is that this piece of garbage is still breathing our air.
Drew M’s thoughts at Ace of Spades are not as delicate as mine, but they make their point.
Topics: War On Terror |
January 15th, 2009 at 12:17 am
I feel the same way. Do what ever has to be done to protect Americans.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:51 am
In my book, terrorists have hung up their humanity when they took on their role. As a result, they loose their human rights. Most decided it was more worthwhile to follow the leadership of their prophet and wait for their reward from their god. Fine. Their choice. Live with it!
January 15th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Call Jack Bauer and ask him his opinion!
January 15th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Let’s see, we play music, don’t give them a good night’s sleep and allow them to get cold. Sounds like a typical day in the military.
They saw off heads with swords in the name of their fatwa and we look the other way.
Step aside and let the men fight!
January 15th, 2009 at 9:42 am
They have it pretty good in Gitmo.
When I think of torture I think of Michael Berg.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Rick - It’s pretty simple. Our self-preservation is more important than their comfort.
Alan - They should pray to be tortured. If they die, they will be with Allah.
Deanna - I got his voice mail. I think he’s “interrogating” someone right now.
ET - Nice comparison! Heh.
Admiral - The late Michael Berg, courtesy of scumbag terrorists.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Yeah, what Ms. Crawford describes isn’t torture, it’s guard duty.
Except for the nudity and music, of course.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Interrogation techniques used on Qahtani included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold.
That’s not the definition of torture, that’s the definition of MARRIAGE…
On Second thought…
January 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Opponents of “torture” insist that America should never “torture” anyone. But before any meaningful debate can take place on that subject, there has to be a clearly understood, widely accepted definition of what constitutes statute “torture”. There is none. There are only descriptions of conditions, most of which constitute discomforts that many of us have experienced at times in our lives. Therfore, all the rants against “torture” in Gitmo are meaningless and subjective, and only serve to erode the war on terror. The sources of the rants have no objective credibility and deserve to be ignored.
January 15th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Ask the regular people up north (like say, you) about “exposure to cold” right now.