Powell aide: Cheney first approved torture to tie Iraq, al Qaeda

Powell aide: Cheney first approved torture to tie Iraq, al Qaeda

rawstory.com

“So furious was this effort that on one particular detainee, even when the interrogation team had reported to Cheney’s office that their detainee “was compliant” (meaning the team recommended no more torture), the VP’s office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods,” Wilkerson added. “The detainee had not revealed any al-Qa’ida-Baghdad contacts yet. This ceased only after Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, under waterboarding in Egypt, “revealed” such contacts. Of course later we learned that....

(visit the link for the full news article)


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...al-Libi revealed these contacts only to get the torture to stop.”

“There in fact were no such contacts,” he continued. “(Incidentally, al-Libi just “committed suicide” in Libya. Interestingly, several U.S. lawyers working with tortured detainees were attempting to get the Libyan government to allow them to interview al-Libi….)”

This is so wrong on so many levels it is sickening. And people wonder why there are so many "revolution" threads popping up?

That's right Amerika: your hard earned tax dollars at work. :shk:

Be ashamed. VERY ashamed. In fact, you should be so ashamed of the things recent administrations have done that you should renounce your citizenship and move to some country like Costa Rica or something. I sure as heck am considering it!

These people flat out lied to get us into the Iraq war. No no, let me repeat: YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT LIED to you and the rest of the world, and is now STILL killing Iraqis as we speak. Has that sunk into your skull yet?

It has already been admitted by Bush himself that there were no WMD's and also that Iraq had nothing to do with 911. So WHY are we there? WHY are good, otherwise innocent American soldiers paying the price for these lies?

WHY WHY WHY???

GOD, this really pisses me off.

So how much more evidence has to come out before you, the naysayer, disbeliever, and Bush apologist will accept what they did as WRONG WRONG WRONG?

But better yet, when is something going to get DONE over this? All of these murderers need to be hung. DESTROYED. But not before they are tortured in the same way.

Disgusting.

rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on Fri May 15th 2009 by TrueAmerican]

This is very problematic for Cheney.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


That's why Darth Cheney is tap-dancing all over the Country on his'RHT' -- Revisionist History Tour.

His intent is obvious; razzle-dazzle 'em, go on every shill talking-points-spewing neo-con-loving TV or Radio show that will lick his feet while throwing softball questions to him, as he poisons the well of Public Opinion.

Doing damage control before his trial...

They even suicided him to shut him up before anyone got to hear this. I don't think they were as concerned with what he would say about the torture......as they were the timing.

Cheney wanted the Iraq/Al-Queda connection. Period.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


I'm getting really sick of hearing about all the torture, waterboarding stories and hering both sides bicker back & forth about what is right. This articl from the Huffington Post that came out today seems we have "The Smoking Gun" only problem is it's pointing the wrong direction. Our wonderful leaders have absolutly with out a doubt been lying to us about Iraq and our reasons for this war. The torture of individuals who they know have the answers lead to zero connections between Iraq and Al-Queda proveing once and for all we invaded a soverign state only to serve the intrests of TPTB!....Hang 'em all!!!!!!!!!!!!

Revelations that KSM was questioned about possible al Qaeda ties to Iraq at roughly the same time that he was undergoing waterboarding provides some key insight into the purpose of the CIA interrogations. A recently de-classified Senate Armed Services Committee report quoted army psychologist Maj. Paul Burney as saying that a large part of his time on a Behavioral Science Consultation Team was "focused on trying to establish a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq." McClatchy newspapers, meanwhile, published an article last month citing a former intelligence official acknowledging that the Bush administration had pressured interrogators to use harsh techniques to produce evidence connecting the terrorist organization and Iraq's regime.

The efforts at establishing a link never bore fruit. Burney went on to note that "we were not being successful in establishing a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq." Meanwhile, earlier in the July 2004 Select Committee on Intelligence report, it is noted that KSM was "unaware of any collaborative relationship between al-Qaida and the former Iraqi regime, citing ideological disagreements as an impediment to closer ties. In addition, he was unable to corroborate reports that al-Qada associate Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi had traveled to Iraq to obtain medical treatment for injuries sustained in Afghanistan."

If you read the article the guy was waterboarded more than 180 times in one month and gave them no links between them at all. This tells me that waterboarding is not an effective torture (laughs) or there really is no link!

Unbelieveable!!!! wait... I'd believe or government capable of anything at this point.......... more like unacceptable...or unforgivable!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't figured out the whole posting of links thing here yet so here is the addy:
www.huffingtonpost.com...

It's ALL Pelosi's fault - or haven't you been watching FOX News?

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Hate Fox all you want, but every news outlet has pretty much turned on Pelosi.

She has painted herself into a corner and is going to starve to death before the paint dries.

reply to post by OmegaPoint


Yeah, about as problematic as it is for Pelocchio (i.e.: Pelosi), huh?

No, not at all, since she was only aware of it, but did nothing. He ordered it and ran the program, and followed every detail, probably even viewed a few snuff films with those who died when being tortured.

He was the exec in charge so is reponsible and thus, the one to be held to account, not Pelosi, who may have lied about her knowledge of it for political reasons. I don't like her either, but she's not evil and did not committ evil for lying about not being briefed on it

www.msnbc.msn.com...


[edit on 16-5-2009 by OmegaPoint]

The focus should be on Cheney and his torture policy, even more so with Hersch's recent allegations. Yet the puppet masters managed to turn this into a Pelosi side show.

Here is a perfect example, we have an "interrogation team" reporting directly to Cheney's office, with Cheney pushing them to continue torturing the subject to get him to say what Cheney wanted him to say all along - bogus "intel" connecting Iraq to Al-Queda. The torturers even wanted to STOP the torture, but that's not good enough for Cheney - keep going until he lies to our satisfaction.

But never mind all that. It's must be Pelosi's fault, as we all know Cheney and his torture teams obviously waited for approval from her before pulling fingernails.

reply to post by OmegaPoint


If I am aware of someone being murdered and not do anything to try and stop it then I am guilty just as guilty as those who ordered the murder.

I can still go to prison for a very, very long time.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
So how much more evidence has to come out before you, the naysayer, disbeliever, and Bush apologist will accept what they did as WRONG WRONG WRONG?

TrueAmerican, it can all come out, and some hangers on will fall away, but some will never accede. Pat Buchanan, who can still be found on talk shows today, was Richard Nixon's "confidant" and did not want to see his resignation happen.
Watergate was a pachyderm poop on the United States. Iraq and the use of torture were pachyderm poops on the world.

Leave? Secede? These colors don't run. There will be those who will succumb to bitterness and anger and want to take others with them (secede). I would much rather they travel to South America, as others have done. For those who remain, there is much work to be done.

reply to post by weedwhacker


So true, and one can only hope a trial is coming!

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


That makes rational sense to me anyway, so how is it that this can be spun away from Cheney, to a focus on Pelosi. Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but wasn't this thing being run from Cheney's office?

And how could Holder NOT prosecute Cheney on this?

And finally, would not the arrest, trial and conviction of Dick Cheney send just an absolutely wonderful message to the whole world, that the United States of America we all once knew and loved, is back!?

Obama and his justice department now have a big problem on their hands, the fact that this is now in the public domain, globally. TORTURE!

Thus, a lack of prosecution makes the Obama administration part of a criminal conspiracy after the fact, and blatantly so.

I always used to have this vision of Cheney being led away in handcuffs, crying like Jim Baker.. could it possibly have been a prophetic vision?

reply to post by OmegaPoint


Your vision is slightly kinder than mine, in mine Cheney is waterboarded at least 180 times in one month with several pig hearts on transplant standby to ensure he lives long enough to experience exactly why the Geneva convention against torture was created.

Oh the irony......and contradiction:
No Waterboarding Used in Questioning On Al-Qaeda Ties to Iraq, Officials Say

reply to post by Seekerof


Contradiction indeed! Man, they must have a sharp Ginsu knife, to keep splitting that hair. "Ok, we waterboarded, but it wasn't about what you guys are arguing about, so end of discussion. ...Crap, this waterboarding issue just grows legs, so we gotta keep kneecapping."

wowza, I'm curious why the focus here seems to be on waterboarding, when in reality so many forms of inhumane torture were used. Have you guys not seen the pictures? To me this is about the issue in the general sense.

But what's even worse is that these people are being tortured at all when they should never have been in the first place. Because really they had nothing to do with the crimes. Al Qaeda was a CIA operation, and Bin Laden a CIA asset.

It's kind of like trying to process information on the "terrorists" of 911 when you don't believe they did it in the first place. One million lies to cover up the initial lie. Of course we know the CIA is the epitome of that.

Am I reading this right? Cheney approved torture to conjure up intelligence that somehow Iraq was involved in 9/11 attacks and aiding Al Quida?