The CIA "torture memo"

April 29, 2012 - 3:43 PM 
"Enhanced interrogation" or torture? 
Ten methods, described in painstaking detail, that the CIA used to get information from Al Qaeda detainees.

 

Whether you approve of former CIA officer Jose Rodriguez or not, there's no denying his confidence and his complete faith that what he did was the right thing. And, whether you call them "enhanced interrogation techniques" or torture, it's important to remember when this all came about: in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States.

Lesley Stahl's two-part piece on Rodriguez provides fascinating insight into the mindset of a high-ranking CIA officer. At Overtime, we wanted to explore in greater detail the specifics of the interrogation methods that the CIA used on the suspected al Qaeda detainees. Waterboarding had certainly been in the news when the August 1, 2002 Justice Department memo first was released. But, what about the nine other methods? We sat down with the producer of the piece, Rich Bonin and his associate producer Kathy Liu to go over the details, at once fascinating and a little macabre.

Watch the piece and tell us what you think. Is this torture? Do you approve or disapprove of what the CIA was allowed to do? Did President Obama do the right thing or not when he shut the program down?


Related Article:
El Dia : 30 abril 2012
Ex-espía boricua emite críticas contra Obama
Defiende técnicas extremas en la CIA

El boricua José A. Rodríguez apoya
la acción extrema para atacar
el terrorismo. (Archivo )

 WASHINGTON – Para el exespía boricua José A. Rodríguez, quien fue jefe del Servicio Clandestino de la CIA, el gobierno de Barack Obama se equivoca al rechazar poner en vigor duras técnicas de interrogatorio para sospechosos de terrorismo. “Ya no los capturamos. La respuesta fallida de esta administración ha sido matar a los prisioneros. No tomar prisioneros”, dijo Rodríguez, quien ha defendido técnicas como el “ahogamiento simulado” que el propio Ejército de EE.UU. considera un acto de tortura.

Por José A. Delgado / jdelgado@elnuevodia.com

Nacido en Puerto Rico y graduado de derecho de la Universidad de Miami, Rodríguez, ya jubilado de la CIA, hizo sus declaraciones en una entrevista con el programa “60 minutes”. http://www.elnuevodia.com/exespiaboricuaemitecriticascontraobama-1246500.html