Bush and the Torture Tapes

In his June 2006 book, The One Percent Doctrine, Suskind had described Zubaydah's interrogation: "According to CIA sources, he was water-boarded, a technique in which a captive's face is covered with a towel as water is poured atop, creating the sensation of drowning. He was beaten, though not in a way to worsen his injuries. He was repeatedly threatened, and made certain of his impending death. His medication was withheld. He was bombarded with deafening, continuous noise and harsh lights. . . .

"Under duress, Zubaydah told them that shopping malls were targeted by al Qaeda. That information traveled the globe in an instant. Agents from the FBI, Secret Service, Customs, and various related agencies joined local police to surround malls. Zubaydah said banks -- yes banks -- were a priority. FBI agents led officers in a race to surround and secure banks. And also supermarkets -- al Qaeda was planning to blow up crowded supermarkets, several at one time. People would stop shopping. The nation's economy would be crippled. And the water systems -- a target, too. Nuclear plants, naturally. And apartment buildings.

"'Thousands of uniformed men and women raced in a panic to each flavor of target,' Suskind wrote, and so, 'the United States would torture a mentally disturbed man and then leap, screaming, at every word he uttered.'"

Pattern and Practice

Glenn Greenwald blogs for Salon that the destruction of the videos is "part of a long-standing pattern of such obstruction.

"In April, I compiled a long list of the numerous court proceedings and other investigations which were impeded by extremely dubious claims from the Bush administration that key evidence was mysteriously 'missing.' Much of the 'missing' evidence involved precisely the type of evidence that the CIA has now been forced here to admit it deliberately destroyed: namely, evidence showing the conduct of its agents during interrogation of detainees."

And last month over on NiemanWatchdog.org, where I am deputy editor, I wrote about all the reasons why journalists should be skeptical when Bush makes undocumented assertions about terrorist attacks he says his administration prevented thanks to CIA interrogations.

Congress and Waterboarding

Eggen and Warrick write in The Washington Post that the startling disclosure about the CIA videos "came on the same day that House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on legislation that would prohibit the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics by the CIA and bring intelligence agencies in line with rules followed by the U.S. military.

"The measure, which needs approval from the full House and Senate, would effectively set a government-wide standard for legal interrogations by explicitly outlawing the use of simulated drowning, forced nudity, hooding, military dogs and other harsh tactics against prisoners by any U.S. intelligence agency.

"The proposed ban sets the stage for a potential election-season standoff between congressional Democrats and the Bush administration, which has fought vigorously on Capitol Hill and in the courts to preserve intelligence agencies' ability to use aggressive interrogation techniques against terrorism suspects."

New York Times reporter Scott Shane describes the congressional action as "a sharp rebuke to White House counterterrorism policy. . . .

"A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, denounced the measure and said it would face a presidential veto if it passes.

"'The C.I.A. interrogation program has yielded extremely valuable information that has led to the capture of Al Qaeda operatives and the prevention of terrorist attacks,' Mr. Fratto said. 'Congress should not be looking for ways to weaken this effective program.'"