CIA videotape destruction: News from Mar. 5, 2009

SUMMARY:

The American credibility of human rights is hanging in the balance.

Or at least that's what Reporters Without Borders (RWB) believes after confirmation that federal authorities, including the CIA, destroyed 92 videotapes in 2005 containing interrogations of detainees at a secret prison in Thailand.

A letter from Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin on Mar. 2, 2009 confirmed the report.

The CIA — which has admitted to destroying some of the tapes — has not said exactly what was on the videos.

But one news organization has reported on what the tapes supposedly contain.

According to the New York Times, the videos show “waterboarding” — a method used, but not invented, by the Bush administration where interrogators essentially torture the prisoners by making them feel like they are drowning.

Basically, what happens is interrogators strap the prisoner down and pour gallons and gallons of water on the face of the inmate.

And like most torture techniques, this is to get the prisoner to divulge information.

This method has been used by the U.S. government on suspected al-Qaeda member Abu Zubaydah and on Abdel Rahim al-Nashiri — who is believed to been involved in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen.

Also, according to the New York Times, former CIA head of undercover operations José A. Rodríguez Jr. ordered the videos to be destroyed.

This has led RWB to push for the Obama administration to start an investigation on the issue.

RWB believes these actions are an "infringement of the American people's constitutional rights" and that Obama's administration should "punish those who are responsible."

The American Civil Liberties Union is bringing the CIA to trial. New York Judge Alvin Hellerstein will hear the case.

The CIA has until Mar. 6 to prepare records on the destroyed tapes and to compile a list of possible witnesses of the tape destruction.

Existence of the videotapes was made known at the end of 2007 — just before the announcement of reformation of the Freedom of Information Act — when former CIA chief Michael Hayden said they destroyed them to protect the identity of agency operatives.

The Obama regime has vowed that it will not use torture during prisoner interrogation.

One reporter who was released in May 2008, Sudanese journalist Sami al-Haj, was being held in Guantanamo without any charges against him.

He was victim to more than 200 interrogations, some involving waterboarding.

MY OPINION:

Initially, this waterboarding idea did not sound too cruel to me. But after thinking about it more and more, I understand why people are upset at what happened to these prisoners.

To make someone feel like they are drowning to get them to talk is kind of appalling. The prisoners probably have emotional problems for a while after because of the actions they are subjected to.

I guess these methods somewhat bother me but at the same time they are criminals. There are worse methods that could be enacted.

But what really upsets me that the CIA destroyed the videotapes because it just goes to show how the government will never be fully transparent.

Barack Obama has vowed to make the government transparent, but I will remain skeptical for some time because of the secretive actions American officials have performed in the past.


SOURCES:

Reporters Without Borders

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