Waterboarding used on 3 al-Qaida officials

Decision-making and monitoring
Although the CIA will not comment on the subject, former CIA Director Tenet wrote about the rationale and the decision-making that went into the choice of those subjected to the most “aggressive measures”… as well as safeguards.

In his book, “At the Center of the Storm”, Tenet wrote:

“The administration and Department of Justice were fully briefed on these tactics.  After we received the written Department of Justice guidance on the interrogation issue, we briefed the chairmen and ranking members of our oversight committees.  While they were not asked to formally approve the program as it was done under the President’s unilateral authorities, I can recall no objections being raised.

“The most aggressive interrogation methods were applied to only a handful of the worst terrorists on the planet, including people who had planned the 9-11 attacks and who among other things were responsible for Daniel Pearl’s death”… an obvious reference to KSM.

The interrogations, he adds, “were precisely monitored” and were aimed at preventing “follow on attacks”.  He claims, as has the White House, that the interrogations did prevent attacks in “the U.S., United Kingdom, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central Asia”.

One former official said at least four agency personnel observed each of the interrogations, two of them medical personnel. 

'Cried like a baby,' playing on weaknesses
According to multiple officials, the detainees reacted differently to the most extreme measures.  Hambali, for example, quickly told all he knew — “cried like a baby” after his first water boarding session, recounted another official. KSM underwent at least two sessions and other extreme measures before talking. "KSM required, shall we say, re-dipping," said another former senior intelligence official.

Bin al Shibh was viewed as a weakling and a narcissist and the agency played heavily on that.  He quickly became the most cooperative of those detained, although he recent months he has once again refused to talk.

And although the detainees were segregated and guarded 24 hours a day, officials say they were clever enough to find ways of communicating. 

Not everyone in the agency thought the use of water-boarding and other such techniques was productive.  Some of those interrogated quickly provided threat information to “stop the pain,” as one put it.  That stopped the interrogation sessions while the agency and law enforcement tracked down the tip, some of which turned out to be disinformation.

New executive order
But in conference call last week, a senior administration official refused to discuss which techniques might be used under the new executive order.

“I’m not in a position to talk about any specific interrogation practices,” said the official when asked about water boarding.  “And I think the President has made it clear from the beginning of the debate here that it’s really impossible for us, consistent with the objectives of such a program, to publicize to the enemy what practices may be on the table, what practices may be off the table, and that that will only allow al-Qaida to train against those that they know are on or off.”

(Officials have previously said that the detainees were able to figure out clever ways of communicating, even while in the secret prisons.)

The official did note that sleep is not a “basic necessity of life” as laid out in the Geneva Conventions.  He did suggest that using extreme heat and cold would not be available to agency interrogators in the future, under the executive order.

“It requires that all detainees in the program receive the basic necessities of life, including adequate food and water, shelter from the elements, necessary clothing, protection from extremes of heat and cold and essential medical care.”

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