For those of you living in a Corporate State induced coma for the past decade, or perhaps just too busy trying to survive to witness the over-bureaucratized American government’s domestic and foreign policy-making play out like a never-ending bad Hollywood drama… we’re going to try to make a very long and fucked up story short:

The U.S. Government in its never-ending, so-called “War on Terror”, by and through the CIA has indefinitely detained a lot of people, mostly innocent.

Many of these people have been tortured or as would artfully be put by a top U.S. official, subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques”… often by agents who had no idea what they were doing.

Of course, the U.S. Government and CIA, with its long history of suppressing the truth and protecting its own (at least those who keep their mouths shut and stick to the program), would never (publicly) admit to torturing anyone (who didn’t deserve it…).

But consider this:

For decades, experts and government officials alike have said torture is not only illegal but also — more to the point — does not work…

The CIA has long conceded that torture is ineffective. A 1989 report from the agency to Congress stated that “inhumane physical or psychological techniques are counterproductive because they do not produce intelligence and will probably result in false answers.”

The report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence…revealed that these very methods, discredited by the CIA itself, were the underpinnings of the agency’s former Detention and Interrogation Program between 2002 and 2007.

So the CIA and top officials in the U.S. Government knew or should have known torture was not only ineffective, but also is a war crime… and authorized and/or directed it anyways.

Thankfully, there are some real American heroes out there fighting for truth and justice, from whistleblowers to investigative journalists and documentary film makers, along with countless other concerned world citizens fighting for whistleblower protections.

Whistleblowers like John Kiriakou, who is officially the only CIA Agent to be prosecuted and presently incarcerated for the CIA’s Torture Program.

 

 

The U.S. Senate’s heavily redacted, damning report detailed the CIA’s post-9/11 “enhanced interrogation techniques” which included waterboarding, rectal rehydration and feeding, threats to murder and sexually abuse mothers of detainees; detainees with broken bones forced to stand for days on end, detainees blindfolded, dragged down hallways and beaten; torture sessions that ended in death.

Click here to download/read the Senate Torture Report

Faced with such a damaging report sparking worldwide condemnation and calls for prosecution of U.S. officials by even the United Nations, the director of the CIA, John Brennan, instead of condemning undeniable war crimes and announcing the prosecution or punishment of government agents and officials who authorized or carried out torture, instead reminded the world of what his agency would like everyone to believe happened on 9/11 and carefully downplayed the significance of the Senate’s report and allegations (click for full transcript):

“[T]he CIA was unprepared to conduct a detention and interrogation program, and our officers inadequately developed and monitored its initial activities. The agency failed to establish quickly the operational guidelines needed to govern the entire effort. In a limited number of cases, agency officers used interrogation techniques that had not been authorized, were abhorrent and rightly should be repudiated by all. And we fell short when it came to holding some officers accountable for their mistakes.

It is vitally important to recognize, however, that the overwhelming majority of officers involved in the program at CIA carried out their responsibilities faithfully and in accordance with the legal and policy guidance they were provided. They did what they were asked to do in the service of our nation. In fact, some of these officers raised objections and concerns with the program and with its implementation, which is crucial to ensuring that the system works as it should and that we are able to adjust as needed.”
…
To be clear, there were instances where representations that the program – about the program that were used or approved by agency officers were inaccurate, imprecise or fell short of our tradecraft standards. We have acknowledged such mistakes. And I have been firm in declaring that they were unacceptable for an agency whose reputation and value to the policymaker rests on the precision of the language it uses every day in intelligence reporting and analysis.

Primarily, however, the study’s contention that we repeatedly and intentionally misled the public and the rest of the U.S. government rests on the committee’s view that detainees subjected to EITs did not produce useful intelligence, a point on which we still fundamentally disagree.

We know we have room to improve. And I am committed to addressing the issues identified by the committee that remain a concern. In light of the fact that these techniques were abandoned seven years ago, however, my fervent hope is that we can put aside this debate and move forward to focus on issues that are relevant to our current national security challenges. In doing so, this agency will only grow stronger. And it is my hope that we can do so under the oversight of the committee in the collaborative and constructive manner that the American people expect of us.”

Brennan of course carefully omitted the word “torture” from his lengthy presentation, along with many other relevant terms (like “war crimes“)…

But will you when you discuss this with your family and friends?

Will you ask questions like:

Why are we funding secret prisons and “black sites”?

… or why is the only person who has been prosecuted by the U.S. Government for its Torture Program the one who exposed it?

What about the people who authorized the program?

What of officials who knew about atrocities being committed but did nothing to stop them?

 
How do you feel about torture?
 
What do you expect of the U.S. Government?

Do you expect it to protect those who authorized, directed or carried out acts of torture, and even… murder?

The U.S. Government’s response, as conveyed by the President and Director of the CIA, seems to indicate that what’s done is done, no heads will roll (except for those of whistleblowers) and business will continue as usual (minus the torture, at least so we’re told…).

Government officials who authorized torture, and those who carried it out, will remain unidentified and unpunished.

Many around the world understandably do not accept this response.

Do you?

Feel free to share your thoughts on CIA-book. And please… don’t by shy. We need your help and online interaction to overcome suppressive algorithms and social media censorship. Each Like + Share + Comment helps our posts reach more users.

 

 

 

Think waterboarding isn’t that bad? Try it sometime.
 
Or just watch someone who has:

 

Are you one who isn’t bothered by any of this?

Maybe you think America is just too awesome to be held accountable?

Would you say the same if it was you or your loved one wrongfully accused of being a “terrorist”, kidnapped and indefinitely detained, without any due process?

See also:

What’s NOT in the Senate Report

trending on Twitter:

#TortureReport Tweets

Tell President Obama to do the right thing: