EXCLUSIVE: CIA Psychologist's Notes Reveal True Purpose Behind Bush's Torture Program

[babsbunny]

http://www.truth-out.org/cia-psychologists-notes-reveal-bushs-torture-program68542

Tuesday 22 March 2011

by: Jason Leopold and Jeffrey Kaye, t r u t h o u t | Investigative Report

Dr. Bruce Jessen's handwritten notes describe some of the torture techniques that were used to "exploit" "war on terror" detainees in custody of the CIA and Department of Defense.

Bush administration officials have long asserted that the torture techniques used on "war on terror" detainees were utilized as a last resort in an effort to gain actionable intelligence to thwart pending terrorist attacks against the United States and its interests abroad.

[Bragi]

1. Clearly explains why Bradley Manning is being tortured

Rather, as Jessen's notes explain, torture was used to "exploit" detainees, that is, to break them down physically and mentally, in order to get them to "collaborate" with government authorities.

[KittyWampus]

2. They don't need to get Manning to "collaborate". He's going to be found guilty easily.

They don't need him to give up co-conspirators (real or fictitious), either

[Aerows]

3. Not true...

....they want Manning to testify that Julian Assange was involved too, so they can get him and shut the whole of WikiLeaks down. Which it appears they very nearly have anyway, since we haven't had the BoA documents they claimed to have.

[Recursion]

8. Yes we have

They just came out via Anonymous; Assange himself said he over-hyped them.

[Bragi]

10. I think there were two reasons for his torture

1. The initial reason was to break him so he would implicate Assange. However, the exposure of Manning's torture means this won't happen because no EU or developed country will extradite someone to another country if the "evidence" offered was obtained through torture. It is also difficult to extradite someone to a rogue nation that is known to practice torture, such as the U.S. The upshot is that the U.S screwed itself in terms of Manning's future extradition when the Obama government was outed for torturing Manning.

2. The other reason for his torture, of course, is to send a strong and chilling message to any other potential whistleblowers that the U.S government will not tolerate the exposure of secrets that reveal war crimes, and that if you reveal such secrets, there are no laws or political constraints in the U.S to stop the government S from torturing you as they wish. If any American thinks they have quaint constitutional right not to be tortured, I suggest they take it up with the constitutional lawyer now running the White House.

[grahamhgreen]

4. "Jessen's notes were provided to Truthout by retired Air Force Capt. Michael Kearns, a "master" SERE

instructor and decorated veteran who has previously held high-ranking positions within the Air Force Headquarters Staff and Department of Defense (DoD)."

Another hero sworn to protect our constitution and doing so bravely.

[PRETZEL]

5. Jane Mayer in her book,

"The Dark Side" wrote extensively about this as well as the reaction of the FBI who prior to Bush naming the CIA as lead in the interogation of high level prisoners. Neither Jensen nor Mitchell had any experience in interogation and as is said, used their SERE manual in reverse in what seemed to be experiments to test their theories.

[Overseas]

6. K&R. More people need to know this.

Proof of what we have always suspected. And more focus on TORTURE which so many citizens don't want to believe their government has done in their name.

[Recursion]

7. I don't see the contradiction

I'm not seeing how these notes contradict what was said about the torture. Is it simply the use of the words "exploit" and "collaborate"?

[deminks]

9. I have said from the beginning that the purpose was to put information in rather than take info out

of the detainees or anyone else they tortured.

K and effing R

[Th1onein]

11. ABSOLUTELY!

They wanted to torture them so that they could "confess" to Iraq's complicity in terror attacks (and WMD) against the United States. Iraq, as we all know, had nothing to do with 911, but Bush needed a reason for his war.

[L. Coyote]

12. Shorthand: To create the necessary lies.

[bobthedrummer]

13. ^