Senior U.S. Interrogator: Torture Talk Puts Troops at Risk - Osha Gray Davidson - Edison 2.0 - Forbe

[SugarShack]

Senior U.S. Interrogator: Torture Talk Puts Troops at Risk - Osha Gray Davidson - Edison 2.0 - Forbes

A top United States interrogator in Afghanistan says that torture played no role in locating Osama bin Laden, and that claims to the contrary by former Bush administration officials recently amount to “propaganda degrades our intelligence operations more than any other factor I can think of.”

On the subject of blowback, he continued:

I cannot even count the amount of times that I personally have come face to face with detainees, who told me they were primarily motivated to do what they did, because of hearing that we committed torture. Even the rumor of torture is enough to convince an army of uneducated and illiterate, yet religiously motivated young boys to strap bombs to their chests and blow themselves up while killing whoever happens to be around – police, soldiers, civilians, women, or children. Torture committed by Americans in the past continues to kill Americans today.

“If right-wing news outlets and partisan pundits or politicians are allowed to continue to spread their completely bogus claims that torture is effective,” he said, “then we will have corrupted the beliefs of yet another generation of new intelligence recruits….It takes months and years of ‘intervention’ to get the next generation back on the track of quality work, specialization, and intelligence dominance – not quick and easy fixes. This is not an hour-long TV show.”

http://blogs.forbes.com/oshadavidson/2011/05/05/senior-u-s-interrogator-torture-talk-puts-troops-lives-at-risk/

[LiberalAndProud]

1. Maybe he should contact Cheney directly.

Wasn't he the one who revived the torture debate? Saw a banner on a street corner here the other day, "Torture is wrong." Sometimes the obvious has to be advertized.

[Bragi]

2. Actually conducting torture may also play a role /nt

[atreides1]

3. Do Tell

[SpiralHawk]

4. Get a clue, Republicon Torture Freaks

Jesus -- having had direct experience -- also hates torture and the perps, not that Republicons could give a crap about that...

[Solly Mack]

5. I don't know whether to snicker or cry.