Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs Page #8

THIS, WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING

THIS."

LOOKING BACK ON IT NOW, SHOULD I

HAVE SPOKEN OUT MORE LOUDLY

ABOUT IT?

MAYBE.

I THINK ABOUT THAT A LOT.

NOW YOU SAY THAT THIS PROGRAM

WAS CAREFULLY MANAGED.

YES.

DID ANYBODY DIE?

AT THE BEGINNING OF 2002 WHEN

WE STARTED TO TAKE PRISONERS, WE

JUST DID NOT KNOW WHAT WE WERE

DOING.

WE ARE NOT JAILERS.

WE DON'T HAVE THOSE SKILLS.

AND ABUSES WERE MADE, AND WE

HAVE 'FESSED UP TO THOSE.

EARLY ON IN THE PROGRAM,

THERE WERE TERRIBLE MISTAKES

MADE.

THERE WERE IMMEDIATE JUSTICE

DEPARTMENT REFERRALS MADE.

AND TWO PEOPLE DID DIE, AND IT'S

REGRETTABLE.

Narrator:
ONE DETAINEE,

SEVERELY INJURED DURING HIS

CAPTURE, IS LEFT UNTREATED

DURING A C.I.A. INTERROGATION A AN IRAQI PRISON AND DIES.

ANOTHER IS SHACKLED HALF-NAKED

ON A COLD FLOOR AT A C.I.A.

BLACK SITE IN AFGHANISTAN.

HE IS FOUND DEAD OF HYPOTHERMIA.

NO CHARGES ARE EVER BROUGH AGAINST THE OFFICERS INVOLVED.

IT'S AWFUL THAT THOSE THINGS

HAPPEN, BUT HAPPEN... SHI HAPPENS, YOU KNOW.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE WERE A WAR.

THE FOG OF WAR.

Narrator:
SOME C.I.A.

OFFICERS WHO WITNESS THE

INTERROGATIONS ARE SO DISTURBED

THEY BREAK DOWN IN TEARS.

MY PERSONAL VIEW IS, "THANK

GOD," ALL RIGHT?

I WOULD NOT WANT ANYONE IN THA ROOM DOING THIS TO ANOTHER HUMAN

BEING IF THEY WERE NO EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED BY WHAT I WAS THEY FELT THEY HAD TO DO.

LOOK, HE'S A TERRORIST, BUT HE'S

ALSO A PERSON, AND I WOULD NEVER

WANT AGENCY OFFICERS TO FORGE BOTH REALITIES.

Narrator:
GEORGE TENET SAYS

THAT ABU ZUBAYDAH, HIS

RESISTANCE WEAKENED, GIVES UP A

VALUABLE LEAD TO THE WHEREABOUTS

OF AN AL QAEDA TERRORIST SECOND

IN IMPORTANCE ONLY TO OSAMA BIN

LADEN HIMSELF.

KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED, THE

ARCHITECT OF 9/11, WAS CAPTURED

AS A RESULT OF AN ELABORATE

HUMAN OPERATION THAT WAS

INFORMED BY DATA THA INTERROGATED DETAINEES GAVE US.

WE TOOK HIM TO A BLACK SITE

WHERE WE WOULD HAVE THE

OPPORTUNITY TO DEBRIEF HIM ON

WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT THREATS

AGAINST OUR HOMELAND.

HE WAS SMART, SCARY SMART.

HANNIBAL LECTER.

PURE EVIL.

THE TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL THAT IS

ABLE TO DREAM UP DIFFERENT WAYS

OF KILLING US.

WE ASKED HIM, "WHAT DO YOU KNOW

ABOUT PLOTS AGAINST THE U.S.?"

AND HIS ANSWER WAS, "SOON YOU

WILL KNOW," WHICH WAS A CHILLING

RESPONSE BECAUSE WE ALSO KNEW

THAT HE WAS PLANNING A SECOND

WAVE OF ATTACKS.

MY NAME IS DANIEL PEARL.

I'M A JEWISH AMERICAN.

HE EVENTUALLY CONFESSED TO

THE KILLING OF DANIEL PEARL, THE

"WALL STREET JOURNAL" REPORTER.

AND IT WAS LIKE A MATTER OF

FACT.

HE SAID, "LOOK, I KILLED HIM.

I SLAUGHTERED HIM, CUT HIM INTO

PIECES.

I PUT HIM IN A SHALLOW GRAVE."

HE ACTUALLY DIDN'T HAVE A

PROBLEM WITH WATERBOARDING.

HE WITHSTOOD WATERBOARDING.

KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED KNEW THA IN ALL LIKELIHOOD WE WOULD STOP

AT TEN SECONDS, AND HE WOULD

COUNT WITH HIS FINGERS.

HE WOULD GO AND THEN LOOK AT US

LIKE, "YOU KNOW, HEY, IT'S TIME

TO STOP."

HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE

ACCUMULATION OF TECHNIQUES...

AND I THINK SLEEP DEPRIVATION

FINALLY LED HIM TO BECOME

COMPLIANT.

AFTERWARDS, HE WOULDN'T STOP

TALKING.

Narrator:
WATERBOARDED AND

SLEEP-DEPRIVED, KHALID SHEIK

MUHAMMED WOULD INADVERTENTLY

HELP POINT THE C.I.A. TO ITS

ULTIMATE TARGET:
OSAMA BIN

LADEN.

IT WAS ONLY WHEN A NUMBER OF

DETAINEES AFTER INTERROGATION

REVEALED THAT INDEED BIN LADEN

HAD SENT A MESSAGE TO HIS

OPERATIONS CHIEF VIA THIS

COURIER THAT FLAGGED THIS

COURIER AND CAUSED HIM TO RISE

TO THE TOP OF THE MANY

CANDIDATES OF PEOPLE WE COULD

FOLLOW.

WE THEN RAISED ABU AHMED AL

KUWAITI AS A NAME TO KHALID

SHEIK MOHAMMED, WHO, AT THA POINT, HAD BECOME LARGELY

COOPERATIVE.

AND THEN, SINCE WE'VE GOT THE

PLACE WIRED, WE HEAR K.S.M. TELL

OTHER DETAINEES, "DON'T TALK

ABOUT THE COURIER."

AND OUR FOLKS IN THE BIN LADEN

CELL GO AFTER ABU AHMED ONE

GRAIN OF SAND AT A TIME,

IDENTIFY HIM AND FOLLOW HIM

EVENTUALLY TO ABBOTTABAD.

Narrator:
THE MISSION THA WOULD KILL OSAMA BIN LADEN--

OPERATION NEPTUNE SPEAR-- WOULD

BE A C.I.A. COVERT OPERATION,

THE CHAIN OF COMMAND GOING

STRAIGHT FROM THE PRESIDENT TO

C.I.A. DIRECTOR PANETTA TO THE

NAVY SEALS.

TONIGHT, I CAN REPORT TO THE

AMERICAN PEOPLE AND TO THE WORLD

THAT THE UNITED STATES HAS

CONDUCTED AN OPERATION THA KILLED OSAMA BIN LADEN, THE

LEADER OF AL QAEDA...

U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!

HEARING PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE

GATES OF THE WHITE HOUSE

CHANTING, "U.S.A., U.S.A.,

C.I.A.," IT WAS SOMETHING THA WILL BE A MEMORY THAT I'LL HAVE

FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

THE C.I.A.'S ENHANCED

INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES WERE

NOT AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO GATHER

INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION.

THE C.I.A. PROVIDED INACCURATE

INFORMATION TO THE WHITE HOUSE,

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,

CONGRESS.

THE C.I.A. PROGRAM WAS FAR MORE

BRUTAL THAN PEOPLE WERE LED TO

BELIEVE.

THE COUNTRY DESERVED A

THOUGHTFUL ASSESSMENT OF WHA HAPPENED IN THE IMMEDIATE YEARS

AFTER 9/11.

THAT'S NOT WHAT WE GOT.

THEY DID THINGS WHICH I

REALLY CONSIDER IMMORAL.

C.I.A. INTERROGATORS USED

BRUTAL TECHNIQUES THAT WENT WELL

BEYOND THE LIMITS OF THE LAW.

SOME OF THESE PRACTICES

AMOUNTED TO TORTURE.

WE WERE VERY CAREFUL TO STOP

SHORT OF TORTURE.

IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF

9/11, WE DID SOME THINGS THA WERE WRONG.

WE DID A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS

THAT WERE RIGHT, BUT WE TORTURED

SOME FOLKS.

WE DID SOME THINGS THAT WERE

CONTRARY TO OUR VALUES.

Narrator:
AFTER A FIVE-YEAR

INVESTIGATION OF MORE THAN SIX

MILLION PAGES OF C.I.A.

DOCUMENTS, THE DEMOCRATIC

MAJORITY OF THE SENATE SELEC COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE ISSUES

A SCATHING INDICTMENT.

IT SAYS THE AGENCY MISLED

CONGRESS ABOUT THE BRUTALITY OF

ITS INTERROGATION PROGRAM AND

THAT NO EVIDENCE WAS PRODUCED

THAT DISRUPTED PLOTS OR SAVED

LIVES.

THE EFFECTIVENESS AND MORALITY

OF THE PROGRAM WOULD TRIGGER AN

IMPASSIONED DEBATE AMONG THE

DIRECTORS.

PEOPLE ARE THROWING THE WORD

"TORTURE" AROUND, YOU KNOW, AS

IF... AS IF WE'RE... WE'RE

TORTURERS.

I'M NOT GOING TO EVER ACCEPT THE

USE OF THE WORD "TORTURE" IN

FRONT OF WHAT... WHAT HAPPENED

HERE.

I'M NOT GOING TO FALL TO THAT.

IF YOU THINK SOMEBODY KNOWS

SOMETHING THAT WOULD HELP YOU

SAVE AMERICAN LIVES, HOW FAR

SHOULD OR COULD YOU GO TO GE THAT INFORMATION?

OF COURSE, THE TERRIBLE WORD

"TORTURE" COMES TO MIND.

THE TERM "TORTURE" IS A VERY,

VERY LOADED WORD.

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THA THERE IS A DISTINCTION BETWEEN

ENHANCED INTERROGATION AND

TORTURE, THE CONVERSATION IS

OVER.

YOU CAN SLICE AND DICE THE

SEMANTICS A NUMBER OF DIFFEREN WAYS.

I THINK IT'S HARD TO NO DESCRIBE SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES

THAT WERE USED AS TORTURE.

IF I WERE CAPTURED BY AN

ADVERSARY AND SOMEBODY SLAPPED

ME IN THE FACE, WOULD I COME

BACK AND SAY I WAS TORTURED?

NO.

IF SOMEBODY WATERBOARDED ME,

WOULD I COME BACK AND SAY I WAS

TORTURED?

YES.

I THINK IT WAS TORTURE.

I REALLY DO.

HISTORY WILL JUDGE US BY OUR

COMMITMENT TO A JUST SOCIETY

GOVERNED BY LAW AND THE

WILLINGNESS TO FACE AN UGLY

TRUTH AND SAY "NEVER AGAIN."

I THINK IT IS A HOPELESSLY

INCORRECT CONCLUSION BASED ON

FLAWED INFORMATION.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes