CIA

Pelosi Expresses "Respect" For "Men And Women Of The Intelligence Community"

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 6:14PM

Here's a statement just put out by Nancy Pelosi, which seems designed to turn down the heat on her claim that the CIA lied to her about torture, but doesn't back off the claim:

Pelosi Statement on Panetta Message to CIA Employees

We all share great respect for the dedicated men and women of the intelligence community who are deeply committed to the safety and security of the American people. My criticism of the manner in which the Bush Administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe. What is important now is to be united in our commitment to ensuring the security of our country; that, and how Congress exercises its oversight responsibilities, will continue to be my focus as we move forward.

Torture

Zubaydah, Waterboarded Multiple Times, Was Pressured To Reveal Saddam-Qaeda Ties

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 4:38PM

Here's another possible piece of evidence that the Bush torture program was used to bolster the political case for the Iraq war.

That 2004 intelligence committee report on Iraq intel that we just wrote about also contains a short section, on page 324, on the information provided by Abu Zubaydah:

The CIA provided four reports detailing the debriefings of Abu Zubaydah, a captured senior coordinator for Al Qaida responsible for training and recruiting. Abu Zubaydah said he was not aware of a relationship between Iraq and al Qaida. He also said, however, that any relationship would be highly compartmented and went on to name al Qaida members who he thought had good contacts with Iraqis. For instance, Abu Zubaydah indicated that he had heard that an important al Qaeda associate, Abu Mus'ab al -Zarqawi, and others had good relationships with Iraqi intelligence ... REDACTED ... During the debrefings, Abu Zubaydah offered his opinion that it would be extremely unlikely for Bin Laden to have agreed to ally with Iraq, due to his desire to keep organization on track with its mission and maintain its operational independence.

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Torture

Report: Questions On Qaeda-Saddam Ties Were "Among The First Presented" To KSM

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 3:47PM

A great find by the Huffington Post offers additional evidence that the Bushies used torture to try to Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda :

A line buried on page 353 of the July 2004 Select Committee on Intelligence report on pre-Iraq war intelligence reads:

CTC [Counter Terrorist Center] noted that the questions regarding al-Qaida's ties to the Iraqi regime were among the first presented to senior al-Qaida operational planner Khalid Shaikh Muhammad following his capture.

"Among the first presented".

Yesterday we rounded up the other evidence that torture was used to bolster the political case for war with Iraq.

CIA

Panetta: It's Up To Congress To Figure Out Whether Our Records Are Accurate

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 3:09PM

CIA director Leon Panetta has just sent the following message to staffers in response to Nancy Pelosi's claim that the agency misled her over torture:

Message from the Director: Turning Down the Volume

There is a long tradition in Washington of making political hay out of our business. It predates my service with this great institution, and it will be around long after I'm gone. But the political debates about interrogation reached a new decibel level yesterday when the CIA was accused of misleading Congress.

Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values. As the Agency indicated previously in response to Congressional inquiries, our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing "the enhanced techniques that had been employed." Ultimately, it is up to Congress to evaluate all the evidence and reach its own conclusions about what happened.

My advice--indeed, my direction--to you is straightforward: ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission. We have too much work to do to be distracted from our job of protecting this country.

We are an Agency of high integrity, professionalism, and dedication. Our task is to tell it like it is--even if that's not what people always want to hear. Keep it up. Our national security depends on it. (our itals)

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Barack Obama

If Torture Stopped In 2004, How Is Obama Endangering Americans By Banning It?

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 12:00PM

There's another part of Lawrence Wilkerson's widely circulated blog post from yesterday that hasn't been given the attention it deserves.

Wilkerson, the former US Army colonel who was Colin Powell's chief of staff at the State Department, wrote:

My investigations have revealed to me--vividly and clearly--that once the Abu Ghraib photographs were made public in the Spring of 2004, the CIA, its contractors, and everyone else involved in administering "the Cheney methods of interrogation", simply shut down. Nada. Nothing. No torture or harsh techniques were employed by any U.S. interrogator. Period. People were too frightened by what might happen to them if they continued.

What I am saying is that no torture or harsh interrogation techniques were employed by any U.S. interrogator for the entire second term of Cheney-Bush, 2005-2009. So, if we are to believe the protestations of Dick Cheney, that Obama's having shut down the "Cheney interrogation methods" will endanger the nation, what are we to say to Dick Cheney for having endangered the nation for the last four years of his vice presidency?

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Nancy Pelosi

Wilkerson On CIA: "There's A Bent To The Way They're Briefing"

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 11:22AM

Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA mislead her in torture briefings has received support from a new source: Larry Wilkerson, the retired US Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Colin Powell.

Wilkerson told TPMmuckraker that he's been present for similar CIA briefings, and that the agency briefs only "very limitedly," and "very selectively."

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The Daily Muck

The Daily Muck

Zachary Roth | May 15, 2009, 9:10AM

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Torture

Focus Shifting To Evidence Bushies Ordered Torture To Boost Case For Iraq War

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 6:21PM

At last, the torture debate looks to be heading toward what's been the big question lurking in the background all along: was the Bush administration using torture in large part to make a political case for the invasion of Iraq?

Writing on The Daily Beast, former NBC producer Robert Windrem reports that in April 2003, Dick Cheney's office suggested that interrogators waterboard an Iraqi detainee who was suspected of having knowledge of a link between Saddam and al Qaeda.

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CIA

Watch The Pelosi Presser

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 3:25PM

Here's the full video of that remarkable 19 and a half minute appearance by Nancy Pelosi this morning, in which she reads a statement and then takes questions -- and accuses the CIA of lying to Congress about torture.

Watch:

CIA

CIA Denies Cheney's Request To Declassify Torture Docs

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 2:38PM

Dick Cheney's request to have declassified two CIA documents that he says will prove torture is effective has been denied.

In a letter obtained by both Steven Hayes of The Weekly Standard and Greg Sargent of the Plumline, the CIA wrote to the National Archives that saying that the documents are the subject of the a Freedom of Information Act request, and therefore can't be released.

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CIA

Boehner: Lie? The CIA? That's Crazy Talk!

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 2:02PM

House Republican Leader John Boehner says it's "hard for me imagine" that the CIA would ever mislead Congress, as Nancy Pelosi has claimed.

Watch:

Yes, we too would be shocked to learn that our nation's spy agency is ever less than entirely forthcoming.

Nancy Pelosi

Is Pelosi Tying Torture Program To Push For Iraq War?

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 12:19PM

Here's a very interesting line from the statement Nancy Pelosi just gave:

We also now know that techniques, including waterboarding, had already been employed, and that those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information.

At the same time, the Bush Administration was misleading the American people about the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. (our itals)

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi: CIA Lied To Congress About Torture

Zachary Roth | May 14, 2009, 11:37AM

Nancy Pelosi has accused the CIA of lying to Congress about torture.

In a press conference given amid questions on what she knew and when about the Bush administration's torture program, Pelosi said that she was explicitly told in her September 2002 briefing that waterboarding was not used. We've since learned that Abu Zubaydah had been waterboarded 83 times by then.

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AIG

AIG: Our CEO Didn't Know Enough To Testify About What He Testified About

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 5:49PM

Is a cornered AIG now trying to cast doubt on a key part of CEO Ed Liddy's testimony? It sure looks that way...

In his testimony in March before Congress, Liddy was asked about the company's risk management practices concerning AIGFP, the unit of the firm that made those disastrous credit default swaps.

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Torture

What's Behind CIA Decision To Release Torture Briefings Document?

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 4:14PM

On the issue of the torture briefings, is the main story starting to give way to the back story?

Here's what we mean:

The main story, reduced to its key elements, is that by the end of 2003, it seems clear that Nancy Pelosi and other top Dems had learned that we had water-boarded detainees. Whether Pelosi did enough in response to that information, or whether she was legitimately constrained by congressional protocol and by the atmosphere of fear that prevailed at the time is a matter for debate.

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Torture

Torture Hearing: What Did We Learn?

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 2:10PM

So, what came out of today's hearings on torture?

• Perhaps the main piece of news came when Philip Zelikow, the former top State Department lawyer, revealed that the memo he wrote offering an alternative view on the legality of torture -- which he says the Bush White House tried to destroy -- has been located, and is being reviewed for declassification. The memo figures to be a hot item when released.

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Torture

Lindsey Graham Browbeats Torture Witness

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 1:38PM

Here's some fun/horrifying video form the torture hearings this morning of Lindsey Graham browbeating a witness, David Luban of Georgetown Law, who disagrees with him. Graham repeatedly asks questions, then prevents Luban from finishing his answer when the witness starts to say something that Graham objects to.

Patrick Tillman

Tillman's Parents Accuse New Afghanistan Commander Of Helping Cover Up Cause Of Son's Death

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 1:26PM

Yesterday, we told you that Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the man just nominated to be our new top commander in Afghanistan, played a key role in the cover-up of the death of fallen NFL star Pat Tillman.

And now Tillman's parents don't seem too pleased about McChrystal's impending promotion.

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Senate Judiciary Committee

Graham Cites Debunked Report To Argue For Torture

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 12:24PM

It looks like Lindsey Graham just cited John Kiriakou's interview with ABC News, in which the former CIA interrogator claimed that the use of enhanced interrogation techniques broke Abu Zubaydah within minutes.

Did Graham miss the fact that ABC News's report has been authoritatively debunked -- and that ABC News has acknowledged as much?

Looks like he did -- or doesn't care.

Torture

Bush Admin Lawyer: Gitmo Became "Toxic Problem" For US

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 11:59AM

Philip Zelikow is now being asked about the decision by President Obama to close Guantanamo.

He told the committee:

Guantanamo has become in world public opinion a toxic problem for the United States America. And so we needed to address that in our foreign policy.

Zelikow also said -- contra the fear-mongering by GOPers lately -- we routinely hold in US mainland prisons terror suspects like Ramzi Yousef who are believed to be far more dangerous than many of the detainees in Gitmo.

Torture

Soufan Challenges Torture Advocates' Case

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 11:50AM

Ali Soufan is now making the point that torture advocates cite the interrogations of KSM and Jose Padilla as two cases in which torture produced results. But waterboarding wasn't approved until August 1, 2002 -- after the interrogations of those two suspects occurred.

In other words, he seems to be arguing that such techniques weren't used, at least with legal sign-off, to produce that information.

This will undoubtedly need follow up.

Senate Judiciary Committee

Soufan: Lawful Techniques, Unlike Torture, Got Key Intel From Zubaydah

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 11:38AM

This is fascinating...

Sheldon Whitehouse is leading Ali Soufan through questioning. What Soufan is saying is that when he used lawful interrogation techniques agaist Zubaydah, he got actionable intelligence within an hour, including the identification of Khalid Sheik Mohamed as the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

However, when a contractor came in and began using harsher techniques, Zubaydah clammed up. It became clear that Zubaydah had received training on how to resist torture.

Torture

Soufan: Torture Is "Amateurish Technique"

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 11:32AM

Ali Soufan, who has participated in interrogations of high-level terror suspects including Abu Zubaydah, is giving a detailed explanation of superior intelligence methods, within the Army field manual, that don't involve torture.

Soufan said that when he used such methods on Zubaydah, they produced actionable intelligence in less than an hour.

As for torture, said Soufan: "This amateurish technique is harmful to our long-term interests. It plays into the enemies playbook."

Soufan made clear: "My interest is not to advocate the prosecution of anyone." Rather, he wants to see us learn from our mistakes.

Torture

Whitehouse Quotes Talleyrand

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 11:24AM

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, chairing the torture hearings, quotes French revolutionary era diplomat Talleyrand:

The greatest danger in times of crisis comes from the zeal of those who are inexperienced.

Now the next witness, former FBI agent Ali Soufan, is speaking. Soufan has asked that his face not be shown, so most cameras have been removed from the room. The CSPAN camera is showing the other witnesses.

Philip Zelikow

Zelikow: My Alternative Torture Memo Has Been Found And Is Being Reviewed For Declassification

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 11:10AM

Philip Zelikow just offered a bit of news about the memo he wrote offering an alternative view on the legality of torture, which he said the White House tried to have destroyed.

Zelikow told the Senate committee that the memo, which had not previously been found, "has been located in State Department files and is being reviewed for declassification."

He said that at the time, he thought the effort to have the memo destroyed -- which he described as "informal" -- was "improper" and ignored it.

And it sounds like we may get a look at it soon.

Philip Zelikow

Zelikow, Testifying This Morning, Calls For Independent Torture Probe

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 10:06AM

As we prepare for a Senate hearing on the Bush torture program, it's worth taking a look at an interview that one of the key witnesses, Philip Zelikow, gave to Foreign Policy's Laura Rozen yesterday, which provided an advanced look at what he's likely to say.

Zelikow, a top State Department lawyer under Condoleezza Rice, recently revealed that the White House tried to destroy all copies of a memo he wrote that offered an alternative view on the legality of torture. He later said he suspected at the time that Dick Cheney had led that effort.

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The Daily Muck

Zachary Roth | May 13, 2009, 8:52AM

• New documents show that the Federal Reserve knew about those AIG bonuses -- and the potential for a media firestorm -- more than five months before the controversy erupted, but didn't tell the Obama administration until February. (Washington Post)

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Dick Cheney

Liz Cheney Asked To Stay On MSNBC Set To Take On Robinson

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 4:58PM

Earlier today, we posted some video of a combative exchange on MSNBC's Morning Joe between Liz Cheney and Eugene Robinson on the subject of Dick Cheney's vocal support for torture.

Here it is again:

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John Yoo

Yoo Must Be Joking! Bush Torture Architect Used Philly Inquirer Column To Attack Political Opponents

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 3:56PM

So we told you earlier today that the Philadelphia Inquirer has signed up Bush torture guru John Yoo as a columnist.

But it gets worse. Greg Sargent points out that in March, Yoo used his new perch to attack civil libertarians who have criticized the Bush administration's expansion of executive power -- an expansion in which Yoo played a key role.

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Norm Coleman

Coleman Wants Campaign To Pay Cost Of Responding To TPM Story -- Even Though It Never Responded

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 2:22PM

Now this is some chutzpah...

Norm Coleman is arguing that he should be able to use campaign funds to pay his legal bills in connection with the Nasser Kazeminy allegations, citing the need to respond to inquiries on the subject from TPMmuckraker and others in the media. But we're kind of unclear about what expenses the Coleman camp incurred here -- because they never responded to us in the first place.

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Jay Rockefeller

Rockefeller: CIA Doc Is Wrong -- Agency Never Briefed Me Individually

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 11:48AM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office has released a new statement on what he was and wasn't told by the CIA about torture.

Says Rockefeller, referring to the CIA document released last week:

We are not in a position to vouch for the accuracy of the document. We can tell you that in the particular entry stating that Senator Rockefeller was briefed on February 4th of 2003 with an asterisk also noting him as later individually briefed -- that is not correct, or at least is not being reported correctly by people reading the document. The Democratic staff director attended a briefing on Feb. 4, but Senator Rockefeller was not present and was not later briefed individually by anyone in the intelligence community. He was first personally briefed by the intelligence community on Sept 4th, 2003.

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John Yoo

Yoo's New Gig: Writing Column For Philly Inquirer

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 11:30AM

It was one thing when the Philadelphia Inquirer gave a column to hard-core right-winger Rick Santorum. But that looks like a responsible decision compared to their latest hiring...

Will Bunch, of the Philadelphia Daily News (a unit of the Inquirer), reports that in late 2008, the Inquirer quietly signed a contract with John Yoo, giving a monthly column to the architect of Bush's torture program.

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Camp: She Didn't Sign Torture Protest Letter Out Of Respect For "Appropriate" Channels

Zachary Roth | May 12, 2009, 11:00AM

Some progress in the debate over what Nancy Pelosi knew about torture and when she knew it...

The Pelosi camp is now telling The Politico that Pelosi learned in early 2003 that we were waterboarding detainees, but took no real action out of respect for "appropriate" legislative channels.

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Torture

Bob Graham: I Don't Recall Being Briefed On Waterboarding

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 4:13PM

Bob Graham, the Democratic former Florida senator, has said he has no memory of being told in a briefing about waterboarding or other harsh interrogation techniques, as a recently released CIA document indicates.

Graham told Greg Sargent this afternoon: "I do not have any recollection of being briefed on waterboarding or other forms of extraordinary interrogation techniques, or Abu Zubaydah being subjected to them."

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Patrick Tillman

New Afghanistan Commander Had Role In Tillman Friendly-Fire Episode

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 3:24PM

It looks Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the man taking over as the new top commander in Afghanistan, was a key player in one of the more shameful episodes of the Bush administration's war on terror -- though it's unclear exactly how much blame, if any, he himself deserves.

In 2007, the Associated Press reported that McChrystal suspected when he approved a Silver Star citation for Pat Tillman that the former NFL star killed in Afghanistan may have been felled by friendly fire. McChrystal told military investigators that that suspicion had led him to send a memo to top generals, urging them not to say publicly that Tillman was killed under "devastating enemy fire."

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Dick Cheney

Is The Most Forceful Advocate For Probing Torture ... Dick Cheney?

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 12:22PM

This goes way beyond strange bedfellows. But it looks like Dick Cheney has emerged as the single most forceful proponent of a full investigation of the Bush administration's torture policies.

In an interview on CBS's Face The Nation yesterday, the ex-veep claimed, as he has before, that the Obama administration's rejection of torture has made us less safe. But he also went further ever in repeatedly arguing -- contra congressional Republicans -- that we need to look back at the details of the torture program before moving forward.

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Torture

Report: CIA Fought For Sleep Deprivation

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 10:44AM

More fallout from the release of the torture memos.

The Los Angeles Times reports that sleep deprivation was "one of the most important elements in the CIA's interrogation program, used to help break dozens of suspected terrorists, far more than the most violent approaches." It was also "among the methods the agency fought hardest to keep."

In fact, former CIA director Michael Hayden reportedly (and unsuccessfully) lobbied the White House not to expose its use by releasing the memos that described it, asking: "Are you telling me that under all conditions of threat, you will never interfere with the sleep cycle of a detainee?"

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The Daily Muck

Zachary Roth | May 11, 2009, 9:17AM

• In releasing the results of the the stress tests, the Federal Reserve cut their estimates by billions of the capital short-fall facing some banks, after haggling from the banks. (WSJ)

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