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Subscribe to RSSNBC's Michael Isikoff's piece on msnbc.com on whether "enhanced interrogations techniques," a.k.a. torture, led to the finding of Osama bin Laden provides good context and details. Excerpts below.
VIDEO: Did enhanced interrogation find bin Laden?
Here are some excerpts:
The behind-the-scenes story of how bin Laden was finally located is yet to be fully told, but emerging details seem likely to reignite the debate over whether “enhanced interrogation” techniques and other aggressive methods that have been widely criticized by human rights groups provided useful – or timely -- intelligence about al-Qaida. While some current and former U.S. officials credited those interrogations Monday with producing the big break in the case, others countered that they failed to produce what turned out to be the most crucial piece of intelligence of all: the identity and whereabouts of the most important figure in bin Laden courier's network. ...
While Liz Cheney and other conservatives on Monday tried to portray the bin Laden raid as vindication of the intelligence community’s tough interrogations of “high-value” detainees, other details suggest that the most aggressive “enhanced interrogation” techniques -- including waterboarding, against other detainees, particularly 9/11 mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammed -- proved useless in learning the identity of the bin Laden courier. ...
“They waterboarded KSM (Khaled Sheikh Mohammed) 183 times and he still didn’t give the guy up,” said one former U.S. counterterrorism official who asked not to be identified. “Come on. And you want to tell me that enhanced interrogation techniques worked?" ...
In the end, U.S. officials say, it took years of patient intelligence work -- including information gleaned from multiple detainees and other sources of intelligence -- to enable the CIA to figure out who the courier was.
“Four years ago, we uncovered his identify,” said a senior U.S. official. Two years later, the U.S. officials were able to trace the courier and his brother to the area in Pakistan where they finally found bin Laden.
Leave a Comment:
CIA Director Leon Panetta, was just interviewed on NBC News...and admitted valuable intelligence information on Bin Laden was obtained from coercive interrogation!. Amazing that MSNBC is still spinning this story!
I saw that also Bob and maybe we can inform the regulars who were posting yesterday morning to the fact they did not use torture.
They are liberal Bob, it would be terrible for MSNBC to spin it anyother way!
Besides, it does create dialouge to fuel the libbie fight against everything.
Don't look now safecracker, but those "Libbies" just capped bin Laden , reformed health care, saved the economy, saved Chrysler and GM, extended unemployment, smoked Quadaffi's son and passed Ledbetter Act.
What have repubs done for America, or you, lately? At least the 98% of America that are not surfing on tidal waves of cash.
Feel free to be specific.
Connie, you are dead on! Keep on keeping on.
Thanks Ikie,
Still waiting for their response.
Yep, just on, Now the REPUBS want us to Stay in Afganistan, ARE YOU KIDDING ME
Great post Connie
GO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Connieslapper,
The shooters who pulled the triggers are liberals? Really? I take it you polled each of them to determine this.
Saved the economy? Really, the economy is out of the tank? Now that is news, for I still see high unemployment, the U6 is over 15%, with no real improvement in the job market. Now what did you libbies do for the first 2.5 years of the obama administration, when the Progressive Party controlled the WH, House and Senate? Oh yes, you spent the time working a health care bill that may not pass the commerce clause definition.
Or was it saving the unions. My investment was wiped out in favor of the union participation. And Fiat received a deal, without much capital to acquire Chrysler, not to mention technological information they didn't develop.
Yep, by not working to help create jobs during the first 2.5 years of the Obama administration, the Progressives did extend unemployment for all.
Yep, he did accomplish that in his 3rd war -
Spend Barry Spend!
Wrong on all counts safecracker. You managed to hit the trifecta!!
If Palin and whats-his-name 'd got in they would be in the white house eating cake, and you would be at a soup kitchen eating s**t!!
Connieslapper,
HAHAHAHA! You make me laugh - the trifecta. I don't believe I was incorrect. But tell me, you never answered how you know the shooters were libbies. Were you there to provide exit interviews on them? Your original statement was so wrong, as your premise usually is.
Now where did the "Palin and what's his name" come from? Soup kitchen for me, no, I don't think so. Want to elaborate on whatever it is you brought up?
Nice to see ya' Spanky.
Hey Bob, didn't you hear Rush's comment yesterday? "Obama made a gutsy move". All news sources take one side or the other. If you want to learn the more conservative view, watch Faux, as I'm sure you already do.
Ikie, At least on Fox, or Faux, as you call it, you get the full news. Did you see, anywhere, in MSN political news, today, that our President fabricated the story he told yesterday about seeing the entire raid, including the killing? Or his further fabrication that Osama had a gun and used one of his wives as a shield? He now admits he didn't see the killing and Osama did not have a gun or use his wive as a shield. Our far left Rag even covered it. Why not MSN?
Hmmmmm. Each member of the assult team was wired for video and audio recording, so each member could be brought onto a series of monitors to view what happened during the raid. Unless the camera on the exact shooter was out, it would be impossible not to be able to view the scene.
Now the left wing whackos appear to want to state we killed an innocent who happened to be unarmed.....right. Obama signed the order for the hit, due process was achieved. What is the issue? Dead is dead!
it would be nice to waterboard a liberal but you certainly wouldn't get any information from them as they don't know ANYTHING!
Yeah we do. We knew where Osama bin Laden was.
You didn't.
Face it.
So Connieslapper, for how long did you know where Usama was? And while we are at this stupid line of discussion, did you pull the trigger too?
My goodness, you can't get past the fact that the ongoing intelligence finally had the break it needed. When a target doesn't communicate by electronic or voice means, it is difficult to find and fix the target. Thank goodness the stupid message runner used his to communicate from the site, or the ASA, NSG or AFSS plus the NSA wouldn't have initially located him. Boots on the ground intel agents confirmed the target.
The fact is, the intel was developed during the Obama administration. Had the situation been different for Bush, or for the next president in 2013, Obama wouldn't have had this on his resume. And you, misinformed person, wouldn't be so liberal with your praise, if it went to a GOP Prez. I do believe you would be on the other end, critical of a President who signed a death warrant on a political target.
So, which way do you wish to respond?
Freudian slip on your part?
You're the Einstein. You tell me.
The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.