The technique is illegal. President Barack Obama banned torture as an interrogation technique in US President Donald Trump, however, has said he believes waterboarding works, stating "we have to fight fire with fire". Image source, Getty Images. What is waterboarding?
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's Panorama programme witnesses the first accurate public demonstration of waterboarding.
James Mattis, didn't believe waterboarding was effective. Mitchell insisted, however, that the choice should be clear for the country's next president.
The documents made public a series of memos detailing interrogation methods that President Barack Obama has labeled "torture" but the CIA refers to as "expanded interrogation" and has also been called "enhanced interrogation techniques. For more on use within and outside guidelines, see Jay S. See also Sen.
Mukasey was U. Attorney General from November to January First, Navy SEALs for years have undergone waterboarding of that sort as part of their training, and they report that the procedure does not cause much physical pain at all; their splendid careers show that it also does not cause severe mental pain or suffering as defined in the law.
Some torture. Arguably, what broke him was sleep deprivation, but in any event he disclosed reams of valuable information. At last report, he is doing just fine. See for example, Sen. Susan Collins, remarks in Additional Views , p.
This inhumane and brutal treatment never should have occurred. The waterboarding technique was physically harmful, inducing convulsions and vomiting…. Sleep deprivation involved keeping detainees awake for up to hours, usually standing or in stress positions, at times with their hands shackled above their heads. At least five detainees experienced disturbing hallucinations during prolonged sleep deprivation … [T]he CIA nonetheless continued the sleep deprivation.
In giving its approval to U. Severe pain is generally of the kind difficult for the victim to endure. Where pain is physical, it must be of an intensity akin to that which accompanies serious physical injury such as death or organ failure. Severe mental pain requires suffering not just at the moment of infliction but it also requires lasting psychological harm, such as seen in mental disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder.
As discussed in the background section, a number of events occurred between and such as the public debate over the treatment of prisoners detained in Abu Ghraib prison that focused attention on the legality and morality of EITs. Several CRS Reports discuss the legal issues associated with detention and interrogation throughout the post-September 11, , decade.
Bush, January 25, Common Article is where the obligation for humane treatment is found. Of course, our values as a Nation, values that we share with many nations in the world, call for use to treat detainees humanely, including those who are not legally entitled to such treatment.
An in-depth discussion of the evolution of legal opinions is not within the scope of this report. It is really about American values and morals. It is about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our rule of law. These values exist regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. They exist in peacetime and in wartime, and if we cast aside these values when convenient, we have failed to live by the very precepts that make our Nation a great one. Rather, the prohibition was put in place because torture is immoral and contrary to our values.
CIA officials associated with the official CIA Comments , and others, have taken the position that values such as national security and saving lives should be the most important priority for policymakers. For example, former POW Leo Thorsness suggested that the moral perspective has to take second place to value of actionable intelligence.
Most of all, I know the use of torture compromises that which most distinguishes us from our enemies, our belief that all people, even captured enemies, possess basic human rights, which are protected by international conventions the U.
They exist in peacetime and in wartime. And if we cast aside these values when convenient, we have failed to live by the very precepts that make our nation a great one. A third issue in the national discussion of EITs and the SSCI Study focused on effectiveness: Were the EITs effective in producing valuable intelligence not otherwise obtainable through standard non-coercive interrogation techniques?
The CIA has admitted its failure to perform such a comprehensive and independent analysis of the effectiveness of the EITs. The cause and effect relationship between the use of EITs and useful information subsequently provided by the detainee is, in my view, unknowable. In the absence of a comprehensive and independent analysis of EITs, perspectives varied widely on the criteria for judging effectiveness. Some viewpoints also appeared to conflate judgments on the effectiveness of EITs alone with judgments on the effectiveness of the overall interrogation program.
Provide information that helped to verify information from other detainees;. Provide information concerning al Qaeda personnel and operations; and. Comment s, p. The Committee reviewed 20 of the most frequent and prominent examples of purported counterterrorism successes that the CIA has attributed to the use of its enhanced interrogation techniques, and found them to be wrong in fundamental respects.
I know that victims of torture will offer intentionally misleading information if they think their captors will believe it. I know they will say whatever they think their torturers want them to say if they believe it will stop their suffering. John McCain, remarks in Congressional Record , daily edition, vol. Government and its allies to neutralize numerous terrorist threats There was every reason to believe there was going to be a follow-on attack. Details associated with, and the public debate surrounding, EITs have already prompted a number of reform efforts.
For example, the CIA Comments listed eight reforms that the CIA is implementing to improve the planning, execution, and oversight of its covert operations:. Better plan covert actions by explicitly addressing at the outset the implications of leaks, an exit strategy, lines of authority, and resources.
Revamp the way in which CIA assesses the effectiveness of covert actions. Ensure that all necessary information is factored into the selection process for officers being considered for the most sensitive assignments.
Create a mechanism for periodically revalidating OLC guidance on which the Agency continues to rely. Mitchell said that C. They think they are justified in using a higher level of pressure. They think: If a little is good, a lot is better. Jessen was never a member of the organization, and although Mitchell resigned his membership in , the APA said his conduct would have been enough to expel him if he had remained a member.
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