Gina Haspel oversaw interrogation tactics so brutal that CIA personnel at one black site openly wept

[riversedge]

I have made myself a note to call both my Senators Monday morning to encourage them to say NO! I know Tammy Baldwin with not vote her in. But teabagger Ron Johnson will say yes. but I will let him know my thoughts anyway. I encourage all to call their Senators. Thanks

PS. I encourage you to read the Report below.





Gina Haspel oversaw interrogation tactics so brutal that CIA personnel at one black site openly wept and requested transfers after torture sessions. Details here: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/gina-haspel-black-site-torture-cia/555539/?utm_source=poltw … …

Link to tweet

What Happened at the Thailand 'Black Site' Run by Trump's CIA Pick

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/gina-haspel-black-site-torture-cia/555539/?utm_source=poltw

The Senate's 2014 report on torture details what "enhanced interrogation" really entailed.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters


Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect details that emerged after the retraction of a ProPublica story about Gina Haspel's CIA career.

As soon as Gina Haspel got the nomination to become CIA director, America’s debate over the use of torture came roaring back. The country has intermittently reckoned with the legacy of the Bush-era programs that sanctioned the disappearance and torture of terrorism suspects—recently, for instance, when then-candidate Trump declared in 2016 that “torture works” and that he wanted to bring back outlawed techniques like waterboarding and “much worse.” And though the CIA stopped using what it called “enhanced interrogation” methods about a decade ago, Haspel was among those who oversaw their use after 9/11.

Related Stories

The 'First Woman CIA Director' Is a Smokescreen
A Controversial Record of Torture, but Maybe Not a Deal-Breaker for Democrats

In 2002, Haspel was in charge of a secret “black site” prison in Thailand where detainees were subject to abusive interrogation techniques. In a 6,700-page classified report on the CIA’s interrogation programs, the Senate Intelligence Committee documented among other things what agency contractors and personnel did at the site to Abu Zubaydah—a Saudi-born Palestinian citizen accused of a “key role” in al-Qaeda, including possible advance knowledge of major attacks—and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri—a Saudi national suspected of involvement in al-Qaeda’s bombing of the American destroyer USS Cole in 2000. In 2018, ProPublica retracted an earlier report that said Haspel ran the site during Abu Zubaydah’s interrogation. Haspel’s tenure began after the Zubaydah episode, according to The New York Times, but coincided with at least some of the torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. (Both are now imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, where they are considered “high value” detainees.)

The committee released a declassified summary of its report in 2014. Among other key conclusions, the committee’s majority held that the CIA had not only misled policymakers and the public about the nature of its interrogation programs, but also that the techniques used were ineffective as well as brutal. Though Haspel’s name never appears in the declassified summary, other reports have identified her as having been in charge of the Thailand site, which the summary refers to as “Detention Site Green,” subsequent to the torture of Abu Zubaydah. That site was closed by the end of 2002; it would take another four years for Abu Zubaydah to be transferred from CIA custody to Guantanamo, where he has been incarcerated for more than 11 years.

What follows is an excerpt, lightly edited for length, of the Intelligence Committee’s summary report dealing with what happened at CIA black sites, including at Detention Site Green.................................














Gina Haspel’s nomination to head CIA faces some opposition in Senate

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/gina-haspels-nomination-to-head-cia-faces-some-opposition-in-senate/2018/04/13/3efeaab8-3f31-11e8-a7d1-e4efec6389f0_story.html?utm_term=.b52f209b79ab




Gina Haspel was deputy director of the CIA. President Trump has nominated her to be the next director of the agency. (AP/AP)

By Shane Harris and Karoun Demirjian April 13 at 8:11 PM Email the author

The nomination of Gina Haspel to become the next director of the CIA is facing opposition from some senators who have questioned her role in destroying videotapes of brutal interrogations conducted by the agency.


......Several people in Congress who are close to the situation also noted that Haspel’s guide during the interview process has been a staffer who works for the president’s director of legislative affairs, Marc Short, instead of a more senior “sherpa,” oftentimes a retired member of Congress who can use personal leverage with former colleagues to vouch for the integrity of a candidate, particularly a controversial one.


The experience, coupled with Haspel’s answers, has left at least some senators she needs to win unsatisfied, and questioning whether Haspel and the White House are taking the vetting process seriously enough.

Several senators, particularly on the Democratic side of the aisle, are now disinclined to support Haspel’s nomination, absent a stronger showing during future interviews with her.

There is no indication that Haspel opposed the decision to destroy the tapes. And some congressional staff believe that Haspel was a full-throated advocate both for the tape destruction and the interrogation program.

One official said that lawmakers are seeking access to a handful of cables and other CIA material that might shed more light on Haspel’s role in the program, but the information remains classified.


Becca Glover, a spokeswoman for the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said he “believes Ms. Haspel and the agency have been forthcoming about her career, and he looks forward to her service as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Her career and experience make her imminently qualified to lead the agency. If she isn’t qualified, no one is.”


Rachel Cohen, a spokeswoman for Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), the committee’s vice chairman, said he “believes the more transparency, the better. He has personally encouraged the CIA to be aggressive in declassifying as much information as possible about Ms. Haspel’s background.”

The 51 to 49 party split in the Senate leaves Haspel’s nomination little room for error — particularly with the prolonged absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is undergoing treatment for a rare form of brain cancer. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has already pledged to oppose Haspel’s nomination, meaning she must win over at least one Democrat — presuming McCain’s absence continues — to be confirmable.

[Liberalhammer]

1. Bloody Gina

[Jack-o-Lantern]

2. Horrifying!