Today's Article
A whopping 92 CIA
videotapes of
suspects have been
obliterated.
videotapes of
suspects have been
obliterated.
The American Spark
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CIA Destroyed Almost 100 Videotapes Of 'Black Site' Detainees
By Cliff Montgomery - Mar. 7th, 2009
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) destroyed twelve videotapes which may have recorded the torture of
individuals accused of terrorist activity by the Bush Administration, reveal documents filed yesterday in a lawsuit
over detainee mistreatment.
The dozen videotapes constituted only a portion of a substantial collection destroyed by the Agency. In all, a
whopping 92 CIA videotapes of suspects have been obliterated.
This tape destruction has come to light thanks solely to an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit filed
against the government.
The suit has forced the Agency to cough up heavily-redacted documents which apparently show that at least a
dozen of those destroyed tapes chronicled acts of torture--we're sorry, "enhanced interrogation techniques,"
to use the preferred phrase of Bush officials.
The CIA's torture techniques are officially secret, but most of the world knows that these practices once
included the simulated drowning of a suspect. The chosen euphemism for this act of torture was
"waterboarding."
The Bush Administration held a little less than 100 suspects at various secret sites around the globe, and
during its tenure the CIA employed "enhanced interrogation techniques" on about a third of them, state
Agency officials.
Michael Hayden, former CIA Director, already has admitted that simulated drowning was employed on three
suspects.
The ACLU lawsuit on detainee mistreatment had been on the legal back-burner. Why? Because the courts
have been conducting a separate criminal probe into the CIA's videotape destruction. That investigation is now
near its end.
All the same, ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh took the government to task for "needlessly withholding information
about these tapes from the public, despite the fact that the CIA's use of torture...is no secret."
President Barack Obama, during his first week in the White House, signed an order which forbids the CIA from
employing "enhanced interrogation techniques" that already are prohibited by the Defense Department. He
further demanded an end to the Agency's secret "black site" prisons, locations around the world where
suspects have been kept from America's legal system--and oftentimes, where they apparently have been
tortured.
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - Mar. 7th, 2009
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) destroyed twelve videotapes which may have recorded the torture of
individuals accused of terrorist activity by the Bush Administration, reveal documents filed yesterday in a lawsuit
over detainee mistreatment.
The dozen videotapes constituted only a portion of a substantial collection destroyed by the Agency. In all, a
whopping 92 CIA videotapes of suspects have been obliterated.
This tape destruction has come to light thanks solely to an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit filed
against the government.
The suit has forced the Agency to cough up heavily-redacted documents which apparently show that at least a
dozen of those destroyed tapes chronicled acts of torture--we're sorry, "enhanced interrogation techniques,"
to use the preferred phrase of Bush officials.
The CIA's torture techniques are officially secret, but most of the world knows that these practices once
included the simulated drowning of a suspect. The chosen euphemism for this act of torture was
"waterboarding."
The Bush Administration held a little less than 100 suspects at various secret sites around the globe, and
during its tenure the CIA employed "enhanced interrogation techniques" on about a third of them, state
Agency officials.
Michael Hayden, former CIA Director, already has admitted that simulated drowning was employed on three
suspects.
The ACLU lawsuit on detainee mistreatment had been on the legal back-burner. Why? Because the courts
have been conducting a separate criminal probe into the CIA's videotape destruction. That investigation is now
near its end.
All the same, ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh took the government to task for "needlessly withholding information
about these tapes from the public, despite the fact that the CIA's use of torture...is no secret."
President Barack Obama, during his first week in the White House, signed an order which forbids the CIA from
employing "enhanced interrogation techniques" that already are prohibited by the Defense Department. He
further demanded an end to the Agency's secret "black site" prisons, locations around the world where
suspects have been kept from America's legal system--and oftentimes, where they apparently have been
tortured.
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
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