The Torture Scandal's Heroes

[struggle4progress]

Not everyone in government went along when the Bush administration approved abusive tactics

Sunday, May 25, 2008; Page B06

... It was Pasquale D'Amuro, chief of counterintelligence at the FBI, who first directed FBI agents based in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002 to have nothing to do with interrogations that included snarling dogs, prolonged sleep deprivation, 20-hour interrogation sessions, hooding and sexual humiliation, among other things. These techniques, which were approved at "the highest levels," according to the report, not only violated the bureau's standards, they were also less effective in gleaning reliable information and probably breached domestic and international prohibitions against torture, Mr. D'Amuro argued. He worried -- presciently so -- that information extracted using coercive methods would "taint" the government's ability to prosecute detainees; this month, charges were dropped against Mohammed al-Qahtani, one of the detainees subjected to abusive interrogation techniques.

Many others in the Justice Department and the FBI are cited in the 370-page report as having fought the administration's destructive policies, like some military lawyers who were previously reported to have objected. The FBI agents who reported questionable interrogation tactics -- identified in the inspector general's report only by pseudonyms -- should be applauded. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III should also be commended for, soon after learning about other agencies' use of abusive techniques, directing agents to rely only on the tested and non-coercive methods authorized by the bureau. Lawyers in the Justice Department's criminal division argued strenuously against harsh techniques, even as colleagues in the Office of Legal Counsel were surreptitiously trying to legally justify those acts.

It is disheartening, once again, to read about the abuse committed by U.S. personnel in the name of protecting the American people. It is disturbing to know that those who signed off on such abuse had ample warning about the error of their ways. It is reassuring, however, that many within government understood -- even in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 -- that protecting the country and respecting its values are not mutually exclusive propositions ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/24/AR2008052401609.html