As the technology is available to "black-out" or "blur-out" the faces of the interrogators, what excuse does the CIA have for destroying evidence AND withholding it from the 9/11 commission?
2007-12-09 04:31:57 · 13 answers · asked by Chi Guy 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
NekoMimi: (below) again
"the technology is available to "black-out" or "blur-out" the faces of the interrogators"
2007-12-09 04:46:15 · update #1
National Security.
2007-12-09 04:35:33 · answer #1 · answered by Mizz SJG 7 · 3⤊ 4⤋
That is a great question!
First of all, I wouldn't use the word "excuses". The CIA has recently said they destroyed the tapes because the information is so sensitive that for the sake of national security, they had to destroy them.
"Sake of national security" is now a mindless mantra used by the Bush Administration to explain so many policies they want to promote.
Historically, crucial documentation is destroyed because of varying levels of criminal conduct by the people who gather the information. Or, as in the case of the Bush Administration, the information is useless or contrary to current policies being promoted.
In this case, it is rumored that these videotapes showed Guantanamo detainees being "waterboarded", hence the CIA's statement that they were destroyed in the concern of national security.
The CIA confirms the videotaping of two detainees, including bin Laden confidente Abu Zubayda, but there are now reports that the videotaping was far more expansive.
Current CIA Director Michael Hayden stated that in 2003, the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the General Counsel viewed the tapes, and both offices deemed the interrogation techniques "lawful". We are expected to accept the word of these offices as the end of any discussion or debate on these tapes. In reality, stating that the activities on these tapes were "lawful" is subjective, especially since the laws regarding what is torture were rewritten early on in the Bush presidency.
I am taking the simplest and most logical approach: the CIA destroyed those tapes because they committed crimes and because the information they received from the detainees was not crucial to the "war on terror."
The CIA would want the world to know that they conducted themselves in a matter consistent with American values, American law, and with actions that truly defend this country from threats terroristic or otherwise. They did not, and that is why the tapes were destroyed.
The CIA and the Bush Administration should be held accountable for the destruction of these tapes. We will never have them to view, but the decision makers should be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate punishments should be given to those who authorized the tape destruction.
2007-12-09 05:24:12 · answer #2 · answered by RAIN-for-ISHII 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say...good point...
I particularly like how you pointed out the blacking-out of the interrogators faces. That is very very important. As there have already been threats made to the families of the Marine Guards at Gitmo because of the name tags they wear on their uniforms. This ulitimately lead to the USMC removing the tags...but it shows that Gitmo is not as air-tight as we would like to believe and it implies that the people held there ARE terrorists.
My only concern is that we have a history of Informants within the CIA, and the tapes would not be allowed (legally) to be altered until the Senator committee responsible for the investigation had looked at them first...this means they would have passed through a million other hands before finally reaching that committee. That is not enough for me if I were an interrogator!
In the 60s the CIA budget was handled by the Senate, but then was transferred to the House of Representatives along with the who government budget...because of the wholes in the process, 168 CIA operatives and countless agents were killed abroad...
so, i would rather error on the side of caution than allow something like that to happen again...
don't let the Congress fool you into thinking they are air-tight and efficient...pork-barrelled spending should be evidence enough for that...
Good question though!
2007-12-09 04:42:10 · answer #3 · answered by Kiker 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree.. we need a private 3rd party with no washington contacts or special interests to investigate and doll out penalties for this.. its simply unacceptable.
Imagine what must have been on those tapes that was so bad/illegal/sketchy that the entire thing had to be destroyed rather than just edited/doctored.
SOmeone is responsible for this shadiness, but like all other things CIA related, we will never know.
2007-12-09 04:36:10 · answer #4 · answered by Peter Griffin 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
I personally don't care whether they destroy all the tapes of every terrorist ever captured.
This is nothing more than a political trick by the Democrat party to try and blame Republicans for something that they had no control over.
And people wonder why I think they should fire every active politician............
Note - I noticed that many people support this idea. Have you people ever sat back and looked at the cost involved in something like this?
I believe two things.
#1 - Bring our troops home. Tell the Iraqi governement that they have exactly 12 months to get their collective junk together because we are leaving after that.
#2 - Every penny that we can squeeze out of the budget must go towards paying down the national debt. We need to pay a minimum of $250 billion per year on the debt and even then its going to take 37 years to pay it off.
2007-12-09 04:36:45 · answer #5 · answered by JW.C 6 · 3⤊ 4⤋
" i do no longer remember" = i'm accountable as hell yet won't admit it. of direction he knew approximately it. If he pronounced he improve into no longer advised there may well be witnesses to come back forward to refute this yet playing the stupidity card tries to purchase him some protection. that's sickening the point of corruption interior the White residing house.
2016-10-01 05:41:23 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The CIA should have just said the tapes were "lost" like the hundreds of thousands of emails the White House allegedly lost. That seems to be a viable argument these days.
"Oh, the tapes are lost. Don't worry about it. Thanks for checking anyhow."
2007-12-09 04:35:40 · answer #7 · answered by Jackson Leslie 5 · 6⤊ 1⤋
ROFL at the Con responders simply using the good ol' stand-by "National Security".
Jeez guys, will you be slowly burning up the Constitution or just quickly ripping it to shreds ?
2007-12-09 04:39:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
OK, I have one question...
Why was it a bad thing that that woman CIA Agent was "outed" and that Scooter Libby guy was demonized for talking yet it is ALSO a bad thing that these tapes were destroyed BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE EXPOSED UNDERCOVER AGENTS?
From what I have heard the tapes were destroyed to protect the anonymity of the interrogators and the undercover agents...
NOT because of a huge, evil, right-wing conspiracy...
Outing ONE agent is not ok but outing LOTS of agents would be just fine?
That makes no sense...
These are not the only documents and video to be destroyed to protect people that need to remain secret...
Make up your fooking minds people...
You can't have it both ways...
2007-12-09 04:39:34 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 5⤋
There should be many investigations, not just on this issue.
2007-12-09 04:35:46 · answer #10 · answered by Edge Caliber 6 · 6⤊ 2⤋