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Interrogator: Torture Saddam? Nah.
From 60 Minutes' fascinating interview with FBI agent George Piro, who led the American team to interrogate Saddam Hussein:
Piro says no coercive interrogation techniques, like sleep deprivation, heat, cold, loud noises, or water boarding were ever used. "It's against FBI policy, first. And wouldn't have really benefited us with someone like Saddam," Piro says.Why not?
"I think Saddam clearly had demonstrated over his legacy that he would not respond to threats, to any type of fear-based approach," Piro explains.
"So how do you crack a guy like that?" Pelley asks.
"Time," Piro says.
Months of time, during which Piro manipulated Saddam, creating a relationship based on dependency, trust and emotion.
Oh, and by the way: "He considered [Osama bin Laden] to be a fanatic. And as such was very wary of him. He told me, 'You can't really trust fanatics,'" Piro says."
via Laura Rozen.
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Josh
Zachary
"You can't really trust fanatics" is a great quote. It not only applies to bin Laden but also other rightwing nut jobs like Ahmadinejad, Bush, Cheney, etc. You get the idea.
January 28, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
I watched it. It was a fascinating interview and one of their best I believe. Scott Pele(sic) is very good at what he does.
I really enjoyed the WMD part, and how they didn't exist.. ;p
January 28, 2008 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
What struck me was Piro's response to Saddam Hussein mis-judging American response. "initially"
The second time he uses it it's vocally underline far stronger. Almost to say "I can't volunteer this juicy gossip but if you ask I'll respond."
Given the bargaining culture of that part of the world would presume Saddam wanted to bargain once he realized.
Imagine what would have happened if Saddam went out like Liberia's Charles Taylor? How different would the world and our country be then?
Guess Viacom didn't want to open that can of worms...
January 28, 2008 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Second what Left open wrote.
It's a hell of a "What if ...", huh?
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe, the horse was lamed, etc. etc.
January 28, 2008 1:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Bushites couldn't leave Saddam in control because it
circumvented war. And. of course, war means money.
Be Patriotic: Don't watch or listen to the State of the Gulag Address. Same crap from the same liar.
Cheers
January 28, 2008 5:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
The interviewee was good, but interviewer was bad. He asked 'why would saddam risk going to war with US?'. Exactly how and when did Saddam do it?. Who went to war with whom?
January 28, 2008 6:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I though Piro was agreat advertisement for the US and the FBI. Great immigrant story, great talker, was given a tough plum assignment and carried it out. The interviewer seemed surprised at the answers particularly the ones about WMD. It was almost like he could not believe what Piro was saying. It was like he had to believe what the MSM had reported during the runup to the war.
January 28, 2008 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
little remembered is bush's remark from a speech shortly after the invasion of of iraq: 'sometimes profits trump peace.' in the i.f. stone era, that would not have been ignorned by the msm.
now, with the likes of ge owning networks, it's ignored and swept into the shredder asap. another way to frame it is, let's sell the saudis and isrealis weapons, then they work out a peace agreement in m.e.
January 28, 2008 7:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting to note that they didn't use torturous techniques as they knew they were against the law. DUH
Also, that they couldn't rely on information gotten thru torture anyway.
That there is basically NO NEED for torture, just points to the fact that some just do it for the FUN of it!
Support our Sadists in training?
January 28, 2008 7:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd like to see the tapes of the interviews. I'm surprised that CBS didn't show some clips. The interviewer being "surprised" seemed a little affected.
January 28, 2008 9:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
60 Minutes helps the administration distort and LIE! No follow-up when Sadam waxed nostalgic about Reagan. Hell he ought to have liked him, they did enough business togetehr.
CBS Falsifies Iraq War History
By Robert Parry, January 28, 2008, http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/012808.html
Related You-tube video http://www.thomhartmann.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=528&Itemid=9 Shows BLARANT LIES by the administration and Dubya. GREAT LIE: "He wouldn't let the inspectors in!
January 29, 2008 11:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why the hell didn't we torture Saddam? didn't he know where all the anthrax and plutonium and mustard gas was? Weren't we panting to keep that out of the hands of the turrists????
Or didn't we actually believe that there was such shit lying around?
January 29, 2008 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink