CIA Lawyer’s Torture Definition: ‘If the Detainee Dies, You’re Doing It Wrong’

[maddezmom]

CIA Lawyer’s Torture Definition: ‘If the Detainee Dies, You’re Doing It Wrong’
Posted 2 hours, 50 minutes ago
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Documents released yesterday indicate that Central Intelligence Agency lawyers advised the Pentagon about permissible harsh interrogation techniques at Guantanamo. In one instance a CIA lawyer apparently indicated the definition of torture is flexible, the Washington Post reports.

Minutes of one Guantanamo meeting in October 2002, which don’t provide a verbatim transcript, had CIA counterterrorism lawyer Jonathan Fredman saying that torture "is basically subject to perception.”

"If the detainee dies, you're doing it wrong," he reportedly said.

The minutes indicate Fredman talked about how to avoid interference by the International Committee of the Red Cross and defended waterboarding, used by the CIA but never approved by the Defense Department, according to the Post account. He also said the detainees should be monitored by medical experts to prevent their deaths while aggressive techniques are being used.

Two months after the meeting then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved techniques at Guantanamo that included stress positions, sleep deprivation and forced nudity

more:http://www.abajournal.com/news/cia_lawyers_torture_definition_if_the_detainee_dies_youre_doing_it_wrong/

[midnight]

1. So glad they were able to clear up that little misunderstanding.

[morningglory]

2. Oops! Sorry, Dude! n/t