Durbin demands CIA accounting on interrogations

[babylonsister]

Durbin demands CIA accounting on interrogations

by John Crewdson

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois has given CIA director Mike Hayden a letter seeking information about the agency's taping of a terrorist interrogation reported by the Tribune today. See the letter here, and the story behind it in today's Tribune:

The Honorable Michael V. Hayden
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505

Dear General Hayden:

According to today’s Chicago Tribune, the interrogation of a detainee who was allegedly rendered to Egypt by the CIA may have been recorded. This raises the question of whether Egypt or other countries to which the CIA has rendered detainees have made video or audio recordings of these detainees being interrogated. In light of recent revelations about the CIA’s destruction of interrogation videos, I write to inquire about the CIA’s involvement in recording the interrogations of rendered detainees.

Last week, you acknowledged that in 2002 the CIA videotaped interrogations of detainees, but you asserted that “videotaping stopped in 2002.” According to the Tribune, Abu Omar was detained in February 2003 and he believes that his Egyptian interrogators recorded “the sounds of my torture and my cries.”

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said he could not “speak to the taping practices of other intelligence services,” but he did not say whether the CIA is aware of or was involved in recording the interrogations of rendered detainees. Indeed, if the CIA renders a detainee to a foreign country for the purpose of interrogation, it seems reasonable to expect that the CIA would monitor the interrogation by video or audio recording or other means.

Please respond to the following questions:

To your knowledge, have any interrogations of detainees rendered by the CIA been video or audio recorded?
Were any such recordings made at the request of the CIA?
Has the CIA ever reviewed any such recordings?
Have any such recordings ever been in the possession of the CIA?
Have any such recordings ever been destroyed by or at the request of the CIA?
Do any such recordings contain evidence that diplomatic assurances not to torture a detainee have been violated?
Has the CIA notified the State Department, which monitors compliance with diplomatic assurances not to torture, of the existence of any such recordings?
Have any such recordings been reviewed to verify compliance with diplomatic assurances not to torture detainees?
Would it be useful to record interrogations of rendered detainees to verify compliance with diplomatic assurances not to torture detainees?
Would it be useful to record interrogations of rendered detainees for intelligence purposes?

In light of the seriousness of this issue, I request that you respond to this letter as soon as possible, and in no case later than December 19, 2007. Please provide an unclassified response to the greatest extent possible, with a classified annex only if necessary. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin

more...

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/durbin_demands_cia_accounting.html#more

[BOSSHOG]

1. We need some military type discipline

For seven freaking years dems have been demanding this and demanding that and little to nothing happens. In my olden days in the Navy, there was no demand for accountability, it was just done.

And why are you always ragging on someone SIS?? Got that badboy locked in no time.

[babylonsister]

2. Hey, BOSS!

I had just posted to you when it was locked. Thanks for your vote of confidence, now where did I put my team? :crazy:

We need someone with some cojones to make this admin abide by rules in place. Why no one seems willing is beyond me.

[BOSSHOG]

3. It boggles my mind

Young Sailors who do wrong and are not held accountable will do wrong again and again (until someone gets killed.) The same applies to the members of the criminal enterprise commonly referred to as the Republican Party. Strong leadership in any organization results in great morale, a disciplined approach to accomplishing mission and esprit d'corps. I'd hate to be a politician in Washington nowadays.

Your team is everywhere all at once and constantly winning.