CIA destroyed interrogation tapes

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7132000.stm

The CIA has confirmed that it destroyed at least two video tapes showing the interrogation of terror suspects.

According to the intelligence agency, the tapes were destroyed to protect the identity of CIA agents and because they no longer had intelligence value.

But civil liberties lawyers have refused to accept this, saying the CIA previously denied such tapes existed.

They say the move appears to be an attempt to destroy evidence that could have brought CIA agents to account.

The New York Times, which broke the story, quotes current and former government officials as saying the CIA destroyed the tapes in 2005 as it faced Congressional and legal scrutiny about its secret detention programme.

Officials feared the tapes could have raised doubts about the legality of the CIA's techniques, the newspaper says.

The tapes are thought to have shown the interrogation in 2002 of a number of terror suspects, including Abu Zubaydah, who had been a chief recruiter for the al-Qaeda network.


INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES
Water boarding: prisoner bound to a board with feet raised, and cellophane wrapped round his head. Water is poured onto his face and is said to produce a fear of drowning
Cold cell: prisoner made to stand naked in a cold, though not freezing, cell and doused with water
Standing: Prisoners stand for 40 hours and more, shackled to the floor
Belly slap: a hard slap to the stomach with an open hand. This is designed to be painful but not to cause injury

Source: ABC News

The videos were, according to the New York Times, wiped in 2005, at the time the agency was being scrutinised about its secret detention programme.

The Associated Press news agency on Thursday obtained a letter sent to all CIA employees by the agency's current director, Michael Hayden, explaining why the footage was destroyed.

In the internal memo, Gen Hayden told staff that the CIA had begun taping interrogations as an internal check in 2002 and decided to delete the videos because they lacked any "legal or internal reason" to keep them.

According to AP, the CIA chief wrote to employees: "The tapes posed a serious security risk.

"Were they ever to leak, they would permit identification of your CIA colleagues who had served in the programme, exposing them and their families to retaliation from al-Qaeda and its sympathizers."

'Troubling'

The CIA acknowledges that these early interrogations were harsh, but Gen Hayden says that the CIA's internal watchdogs saw the tapes in 2003 and verified that the techniques used were legal.

But Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy said the tapes' destruction was troubling.

And guess what? A few scapegoats will end up getting in trouble and MAYBE' do some time. A president is like the boss of the U.S. How can anyone fire the boss? Sometimes, maintaining this gov't., regardless of any crime, has to be more important than convicting it. That's just the way it is. That's always been the reality of it all. Now' if they could' go after some really big wigs and convict them, then I'd be very impressed! But until then, it's all bull****! I don't agree with the way things get done in this gov't. but what can anyone do? What real convictions have come out of all of the bush administration so far? Noda one! It's good to mentiion it though. I'm definately all for that.

Posted by playa2:

Yea I can tell this country is ready to go under with the facism taking over.

It's just like Hitler. When you have twisted minds running for gov't. and enough stupid people to put them there, you have Hitler again. Except Germany didn't have a Constitution that people believed in. I think we're in okay shape right now. Don't worry, no one's getting exterminated here and besides, I think theres way too many special interest groups here to build an army of nitwits to eliminate the others half, because there is no' other half. It's more like 1/64 trying to wipe everyone else out. You'd know this based simply by looking at the campaign. These candidates have to jump through burning hoops, just to get noticed and then they have to sky dive and walk a tight rope across the Grand Canyon, to win their parties nomination. And then' there's the campaign for presidential election. There is no' single theme to run on, like they did over there decades ago. Democracy' you gotta love it sometimes. It works great for some and it's gotta eventually work great for 'everyone'.