ABC's CIA Sources Point out Secret Prisons, undermine allies, and make countries terrorist targets
Good work CIA/ABC!
Abu Zubaydah: Held first in Thailand then Poland
Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi: Held in Poland. Previously held in Pakistan/Afghanistan
Abdul Rahim al-Sharqawi: Held in Poland
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri: Held in Poland
Ramzi Binalshibh: Held in Poland
Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman: Held in Poland
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: Held in Poland
Waleed Mohammed bin Attash: Held in Poland
Hambali: In U.S. custody. Kept isolated from other high-value targets.
Hassan Ghul: Held in Poland.
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani: Held in Poland
Abu Faraj al-Libbi: Held in Poland
Poland has publicly denied any association with the secret prisons, so this of course is embarassing for them. Thailand is fighting its own Muslim insurgency in the south, so making the list won't make them to happy either. Both have pretty weak security, and will make great targets for terrorism.
The report talks about "enhanced interrogation techniques", like waterboarding, which it makes sound like the worst thing in the world. one terrorist was waterboarded and cried like a baby, the report says. How long was he under? .31 seconds. Not 30 seconds, half a second.
I'm not a hard man. I have no doubt i'd be sobbing and ratting out Bin Laden in .1 seconds, but I'm also not a murderous terrorist. There was no danger of the man being killed by the technique. It was uncomfortable, and created the psychological impression of drowning, but it wasn't actually harmful.
The leaking of this report has no value. It was done by elements of the CIA, with an interest in undermining the war on terror. Probably for three reasons. 1. They are probably partisan and hate GW, and 2. they are probably resentful of the military's heavy duty involvement in the war and the CIA's apparent back seat, and 3. they are probably pencil pushing sissies.
(As for the CIA being partisan, I point out the old CIA joke I was told by a former Ops officer: "Q:"What's two things you won't find in the halls of Langley?"
A: "Assassins, and Republicans" ( might need a few more of both)
I'm a journalist. I understand that weird itch you get when someone tells you something is secret. You immediately want to find out what it is and publish the hell out of it. Journalistic Ethics doesn't just mean not letting your Washington Source pay for your Surf and Turf, it also means making serious determinations about what is in the public interest to know. It means not revealing information which does nothing but harm American interests and potentially risks lives. For every story there is a scale. -10 to 10. Does it do any harm? Does it do any good?
The 4th Estate has a privileged position in American Life. For goodness sake, let's try to actually earn it.
Abu Zubaydah: Held first in Thailand then Poland
Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi: Held in Poland. Previously held in Pakistan/Afghanistan
Abdul Rahim al-Sharqawi: Held in Poland
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri: Held in Poland
Ramzi Binalshibh: Held in Poland
Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman: Held in Poland
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: Held in Poland
Waleed Mohammed bin Attash: Held in Poland
Hambali: In U.S. custody. Kept isolated from other high-value targets.
Hassan Ghul: Held in Poland.
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani: Held in Poland
Abu Faraj al-Libbi: Held in Poland
Poland has publicly denied any association with the secret prisons, so this of course is embarassing for them. Thailand is fighting its own Muslim insurgency in the south, so making the list won't make them to happy either. Both have pretty weak security, and will make great targets for terrorism.
The report talks about "enhanced interrogation techniques", like waterboarding, which it makes sound like the worst thing in the world. one terrorist was waterboarded and cried like a baby, the report says. How long was he under? .31 seconds. Not 30 seconds, half a second.
I'm not a hard man. I have no doubt i'd be sobbing and ratting out Bin Laden in .1 seconds, but I'm also not a murderous terrorist. There was no danger of the man being killed by the technique. It was uncomfortable, and created the psychological impression of drowning, but it wasn't actually harmful.
The leaking of this report has no value. It was done by elements of the CIA, with an interest in undermining the war on terror. Probably for three reasons. 1. They are probably partisan and hate GW, and 2. they are probably resentful of the military's heavy duty involvement in the war and the CIA's apparent back seat, and 3. they are probably pencil pushing sissies.
(As for the CIA being partisan, I point out the old CIA joke I was told by a former Ops officer: "Q:"What's two things you won't find in the halls of Langley?"
A: "Assassins, and Republicans" ( might need a few more of both)
I'm a journalist. I understand that weird itch you get when someone tells you something is secret. You immediately want to find out what it is and publish the hell out of it. Journalistic Ethics doesn't just mean not letting your Washington Source pay for your Surf and Turf, it also means making serious determinations about what is in the public interest to know. It means not revealing information which does nothing but harm American interests and potentially risks lives. For every story there is a scale. -10 to 10. Does it do any harm? Does it do any good?
The 4th Estate has a privileged position in American Life. For goodness sake, let's try to actually earn it.
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