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New Inspector General Report on Detainee Abuse


President Bush says the United States does not engage in torture. A new report by the DOJ Inspector General today does not agree. The full report is here.

Some of the techniques used violated Defense Department policy at the time.

F.B.I. agents complained repeatedly, beginning in 2002, about the harsh interrogation tactics that military and C.I.A. interrogators were using in questioning terrorism suspects, like making them do dog tricks and parade in the nude in front of female soldiers, but their complaints appear to have had little effect, according to an exhaustive report released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

The report for the most part praises the FBI.

“In sum, while our report concluded that the F.B.I. could have provided clearer guidance earlier, and while the F.B.I. and DoJ could have pressed harder for resolution of F.B.I. concerns about detainee treatment, we believe the F.B.I. should be credited for its conduct and professionalism in detainee interrogations in the military zones in Afghanistan,” in Iraq and at Guantánamo Bay, the report said. DoJ refers to the Justice Department, the bureau’s parent agency.

The ACLU sees it differently: [more...]

“The report confirms that senior F.B.I. officials knew as early as 2002 that other agencies were using abusive interrogation methods,” Mr. Jaffer said. “The report shows unequivocally, however, that the F.B.I.’s leadership failed to act aggressively to end the abuse.”

On the investigation:

The investigation examined about a half-million documents and included surveys of 1,000 F.B.I. agents regarding their experiences with interrogation tactics by military and C.I.A. interrogators, as well as interviews with hundreds of other bureau personnel, officials said. The investigation centered on the accounts of what the agents witnessed in the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and how those complaints were handled. The Justice Department’s inspector general does not have jurisdiction over the Pentagon.

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  • Display: Sort:
    Harsh (1.00 / 0) (#5)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue May 20, 2008 at 09:43:48 PM EST
    is not torture.

    Abusive is not torture.

    Jeralyn, since when (none / 0) (#1)
    by FlaDemFem on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:27:33 PM EST
    did anyone think George W. Bush knew anything about anything?? Why would anyone take his utterances seriously? I certainly don't. If Bush says we don't torture, for me that is just about the most certain proof that we do. Bush is big on denying things before people find out about them. That way he can point to his statement as "proof" that the crime being asked about is untrue. Personally, I would take that sentence out of the post. It diminishes the subject by interjecting a murderous fool into the conversation.

    About the torture, I think everyone, from Bush on down, who was involved with ordering or implementing it should be tried and imprisoned. Assuming a guilty verdict, of course. I just regret that the Constitution does not permit inflicting the same tortures they ordered on them. That would be true justice.

    its stuff like this that made (none / 0) (#2)
    by TruthMatters on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:28:14 PM EST
    me switch from wanting to be a prosecutor to a public defender. I start a clinic working with public defenders next week. can even end up representing some lower offense crimes in court

    Our credibility is shot, this is more (none / 0) (#3)
    by bjorn on Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:34:16 PM EST
    evidence that Bush has lied to the world.

    Strutting your stuff (none / 0) (#4)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue May 20, 2008 at 02:44:16 PM EST

    So walking around naked in front of some females is torture!  Are streakers guilty of self-torture?  

    Putting that in the same category as crushing someone's knuckles one at a time seems to debase the word "torture" to meaninglessness.