CIA torturers lied but no punishment for them.

By Richard Mellor

Afscme Local 444, retired

The long awaited report on CIA was released recently and it tells us what we already know.  The CIA’s brutal treatment of prisoners produced little if any results.  According to the Washington Post, the CIA, “….misled the government and the public about aspects of its brutal interrogation program for years — concealing details about the severity of its methods, overstating the significance of plots and prisoners, and taking credit for critical pieces of intelligence that detainees had in fact surrendered before they were subjected to harsh techniques.”

Abu Zubaida, the alleged al Qaeda operative was waterboarded by the CIA 83 times the report says yet according to one official quoted in the Post, all useful information from Zubaida was obtained in Pakistan before the CIA got a hold of him and that they were waterboarding a “cooperative” prisoner.  

The CIA’s lies about the torture of prisoners, whether innocent or guilty of any crime or activity against US personnel or property, have been extensive.  The agency also grossly overstated the significance of the information it obtained from those it tortured; a necessary evil as they have to justify their existence.  Even the information that led to the capture of bin Laded was obtained using “conventional interrogational methods”.

The most popular methods were waterboarding, a process that everyone should be well aware of by now and made more well known by Moss Def who agreed to be waterboarded to get a feel of what it was like.  CIA torturers also dunked prisoners in tubs of ice water, naked of course, “slammed their heads in to walls” and “beat them with clubs.”  The torturers continued their activity even after prisoners had no more information to give.  It’s the dream job for a sadist.

So the Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded that the CIA lied to investigators as well along with snooping around on congressional computers.  The CIA along with the entire Homeland Security institution is most likely a far more extensive and broad policing agency than the old Stalinist KGB. The CIA is responsible for numerous assassinations of foreign leftists, politicians, trade unionists and others opposed to its policies pursued in the interests of US capitalism and “Full Spectrum Dominance”.

The committee “refrained from assigning motives to CIA officials whose actions or statements were scrutinized.” Says the Post.  The  “report also does not recommend new administrative punishment or further criminal inquiry into a program…” .  Well, the motive for the agency as a whole is defense of US capitalism’s interests both domestic and internationally.  For individuals, they’re just driven by their sadistic urges, having the power to torture and humiliate human beings without fear of any repercussions for such actions. Despite these findings by the “government of the people” , the torturers will not be punished, will not suffer any loss and be left to continue their practices in our name.

The CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” it turns out, are simply a euphemism for torture, inflicting such pain and terror on a human being that they’ll tell you anything ensuring further funding for your agency and employment for the nasty characters that seek work there. The CIA is a perfect example of big government.

US foreign policy and the brutality of the CIA and mercenary groups like Blackwtaer that has emerged under a new name is the best recruiting tool for al Qaeda or any other group wanting revenge from the source of the drones that blow up wedding parties and murder thousands of innocent civilians.  We as Americans have not a clue what or who the “suspected militant” “insurgent” or “terrorist” is.  It certainly doesn’t matter to the US government.

Next time there’s a terrorist attack on US civilians remember the CIA and US foreign policy.