Tough Guys Hayden and Mukasey Defend Torture, Decry Release of the OLC Memos: Why They're Wrong

By Rep. Jan Schakowsky, AlterNet. Posted April 22, 2009.

Hayden and Mukasey express concern that terrorists will ridicule us, when in reality Al Qaeda must be deeply disappointed to have lost one of their best propaganda tools. The disclosure, they say, "will incur the utter contempt of our enemies" and that those capable of monstrous acts such as Daniel Pearl's beheading won't be "shamed into giving up violence by the news that the U.S. will no longer interrupt the sleep cycle of captures terrorists..." Are we therefore to conclude that the United States should allow the terrorists themselves to set the standard for us -- that since they have shed their humanity and respect for international law, we should do the same? Senator John McCain, a victim of torture, had it right when he said in rejecting the use of such techniques, "It's not about them; it's about us."

Not torturing prisoners is one of the proudest traditions of the United States, one of the features that define us, one that was honored by George Washington when he insisted that the British captives be treated with humanity and one that has long been embodied in our law and international law. General Washington told his troops, "Treat them with humanity, and let them have no reason to complain of our copying the brutal example of the British Army in their treatment of our unfortunate brethren who have fallen into their hands."

Hayden and Mukasey claim that critical information regarding terrorists and their attacks were derived from use of these "enhanced techniques" and suggest that anyone on the Congressional committees who heard Hayden's briefings could not conclude otherwise. As one of those who was privy to those briefings, I saw no empirical evidence to prove that assertion. Video tapes that were made of the interrogations have been destroyed. It is public knowledge that the interrogators administering the harshest techniques, pleaded to headquarters to stop, saying that Abu Zubaydah had nothing more to offer. Headquarters said no.

The value of information gained from torture has been outright discredited by the most experienced interrogators. Those experts demonstrated that the standard interview used with Abu Zubaydah before he was whisked away by the CIA to one or more "black sites", elicited significant, solid information to government interrogators. I spoke to an early Zubaydah interrogator who believed the process was going well. Note also that the FBI removed itself entirely from the interrogations after the "enhanced techniques" were introduced.

The authors say that it is a "self-fulfilling prophecy" to assume that using these extraordinary (and likely illegal) methods "disgraced us before the world." And throughout their opinion piece they suggest that rejecting those tactics puts our country in danger. To refute that notion, I turn to the simple but eloquent words of President Obama who said when releasing the memos, "I prohibited the use of these interrogation techniques by the United States because they undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer. Enlisting our values in the protection of our people makes us stronger and more secure. A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false choice between our security and our ideals, and that is why these methods of interrogation are already and thing of the past." The president said that withholding them "could contribute to an inaccurate accounting of the past, and fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about action taken by the United States."

Now that's my kind of tough guy. I'm glad that Hayden and Mukasey have been replaced by people who have faith in the strength of American values and laws. I believe our country is stronger and safer as a result of ending torture and releasing these memos. Thank you President Barack Obama.

See more stories tagged with: cia, torture, fbi, barack obama, washington post, wall street journal, michael mukasey, waterboarding, michael hayden, abu zubaydah, barton gellman, dana priest

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