Pentagon released photos of detainee abuse

Posted by | February 5, 2016 20:30 | Filed under: News Behaving Badly War & Peace


After years of fighting a court order, the Pentagon on Friday released nearly 200 pictures related to U.S. military abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan. The photographs belong to a larger collection of as many as 2,100 images taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009, and are part of various investigations into military…

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By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

22 responses to Pentagon released photos of detainee abuse

  1. nola878 February 5th, 2016 at 21:19

    Please…it’s not torture…it’s “enhanced interrogation”!

    The wordsmiths must have gotten a huge bonus for that one.

    • tracey marie February 5th, 2016 at 21:38

      Amazing how illegal actions are accepted by the right and some on the left

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      • burqa February 10th, 2016 at 20:51

        People have seen too many Hollywood movies and have no idea how real interrogations are carried out.
        As I posted above, the most successful interrogators in history have been those who used humane approaches.
        I was just reading about the best interrogator British MI5 had during World War II and into the 50s and 60s. His name was William Skardon and he’d practically bore the prisoner to death while working in seemingly innocuous questions.
        The case I was reading about was Alan Nunn May, a nuclear physicist who worked on the atomic bomb who also spied for the USSR. We discovered his treachery through highly top secret decrypts of Soviet intelligence messages, but had no other evidence. Skardon used this intelligence in calmly questioning May and got a full confession. Otherwise they could not have prosecuted May because they did not want to let it be known we had been decrypting Soviet communications.
        In turn, May gave up other spies that led to the exposure of Soviet networks in the U.S.

        • tracey marie February 10th, 2016 at 20:52

          Very good.

          • burqa February 11th, 2016 at 21:38

            Below is a description of a famous interrogator from World War II, “Pappy” Moran, beginning with the Guadalcanal campaign that began in August 1942:

            “Moran used his experiences in the campaign to write “Suggestions for Japanese Interpreters Working in the Field,” which has become one of the “timeless documents” in the field and a “standard read” for insiders, according to the Marine Corps Interrogator Association (MCITTA), a group of active-duty and retired Marine intelligence personnel. MajGen Michael E. Ennis, former director of Marine Corps Intelligence, has gone even further, saying Moran’s reports are the “gold standard” of interrogation techniques …
            Moran believed that “despite the complexities and difficulties of dealing with an enemy from such a hostile and alien culture, some American interrogators consistently managed to extract useful information from prisoners. The successful interrogators all had one thing in common in the way they approached their subject. They were nice to them. “He firmly believed “stripping a prisoner of his dignity, treating him as a still-dangerous threat, forcing him to stand at attention and flanking him with armed guards … invariably backfired.”
            In 1943, Moran wrote, “Without exception it has been demonstrated time and again that a ‘human approach works.”…
            “… Capt. Moran forbade strong-arm methods, threats and contemptuousness. “You can get a ‘confession’ out of a man by bullying him, by practicing ‘third degree’ methods – but an intelligence officer is not interested in confessions,” he said. “He is after information, and it has been demonstrated time and again that a human approach works best.” …

            Herbert C. Merillat, 1stMarDiv historian, described Moran as “a delightful man, full of bounce and verve at God knows what age. Bald, blue-eyed, wearing thick-rimmed spectacles, which often rested halfway down his nose as he peered at the person he was talking to, he had a penetrating voice crackling with energy. He admired the subtleties of the Japanese language. His own mastery of it and his sympathetic manner seemed to put at ease the prisoners he interrogated.”
            Merillat observed that Pappy occasionally interrupted a captured soldier to compliment him: “How well [you] said that. What a nice phrase [you] used,” which often surprised the prisoner, who expected to be killed. …

            “… He considered “a prisoner as out of the war, out of the picture, and thus, in a way, not an enemy. When it comes to the wounded, the sick … I consider that since they are out of combat for good, they are simply needy human beings, needing our help, physically and spiritually. This is the standpoint of one human being thinking of another human being. But in addition, it is hard business common sense, and yields rich dividends from the intelligence viewpoint.”
            “Moran’s philosophy of interrogation was proven time and again in the form of actionable intelligence that saved lives on the battlefield.”

            [The article gives as an example that Moran verified the 3,000+ man Japanese force that attacked Edson’s Ridge, a crucial battle in the campaign and further states Moran’s reports were widely distributed in the Pacific Theater as models to train interrogators.]

            “Moran left us with an enduring philosophy, one that clearly defined his concepts for dealing with the complexities of interrogation techniques. Despite the fact that he developed the philosophies more than 60 years ago, his wisdom is not hidden away in some dusty archive. They are in use today.
            “The Marine Corps is devoting tremendous time and energy to enhancing interrogation methods, and the techniques being taught are similar to those developed and used so successfully by Sherwood Moran in World War II,” Brigadier General Richard M. Lake, the director of Marine Corps Intelligence, said….
            “Cultural knowledge can be a huge plus for effective interrogation,” said Barak A. Salmoni, the deputy director of CAOCL [Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning]. Marines at the school are taught “informational, informal interviewing techniques,” much as Moran stressed. “Hard” methods are not effective, according to Salmoni, who added, “Remember, Iraqis have lived in a world of terror and intimidation for 30 plus years, thus threats [and] intimidation are not effective with them.””

            – “The Gold Standard, Major Sherwood Moran and the Interrogation of Prisoners of War,” by LtCol James B. Wilkinson, USMC (Ret) with Dick Camp, Leatherneck, February 2007, page 45ff

  2. robert February 5th, 2016 at 22:51

    this makes Benghazi and any classified emails a nonsubject

  3. MBJR February 6th, 2016 at 03:02

    This is what it looks like when you vote in a cowboy president that you would like to have a beer with.

    Meanwhile 8 years later,

    So let’s go kick some ass and bomb the sh!t out of them! Vote Republican! YeeHaa!

  4. bpollen February 6th, 2016 at 04:55

    But it’s OK because our hearts are pure!!!!

  5. Gina Bousquet February 6th, 2016 at 09:31

  6. William February 6th, 2016 at 10:28

    Hey right wing radio wackos. Lets talk all get teary eyed and talk about the “Founding fathers”, shall we?

    • burqa February 6th, 2016 at 23:17

      Mind if I pile on?

      “In 1776, American leaders believed that it was not enough to win the war. They also had to win in a way that was consistent with the values of this society and the principles of their cause. One of their greatest achievements in the winter campaign of 1776-77 was to manage the war in a manner that was true to the expanding humanitarian ideals of the American Revolution. It happened in a way that was different from the ordinary course of wars in general. In [376] Congress and the army, American leaders resolved that the War of Independence would be conducted with a respect for human rights, even of the enemy. This idea grew stronger during the campaign of 1776-77, not weaker as is commonly the case in war.

      In Congress, John Adams took the lead. To his wife he wrote, “I who am always made miserable by the Misery of every sensible being, am obliged to hear continual accounts of the barbarities, the cruel Murders in cold blood, even the most tormenting ways of starving and freezing committed by our Enemies… These accounts harrow me beyond Description.” John Adams resolved that the guiding principles of the American Republic would always be what he called the policy of humanity. He wrote, “I know of no policy, God is my witness, but this – Piety, Humanity and Honesty are the best Policy. Blasphemy, Cruelty and Villainy have prevailed and may again. But they won’t prevail against America, in this Contest, because I find the more of them are employed, the less they succeed.”

      .… Not all American leaders agreed… But most men of the American Enlightenment shared John Adams way of thinking. In the critical period of 1776 and 1777, leaders of both the Continental army and the Congress adopted the policy of humanity. That choice was reinforced when they learned that some British leaders decided to act differently. Every report of wounded soldiers refused quarter, of starving captives mistreated in the prison hulks at New York, and of the plunder and rapine in New Jersey persuaded leaders in Congress and the army to go in a different way as an act of principle and enlightened self-interest. More than any others, John Adams gave words to this policy, and George Washington put it to work.”

      Washington’s Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer (Oxford University Press, 2004), pages 375-376

      • William February 7th, 2016 at 10:25

        Your wonderful post represents exactly what the so called founding fathers were trying to achieve. If you listen to right wing media wacko-land, one would think that the founding fathers were mostly focused on gun ownership.

        • burqa February 9th, 2016 at 20:57

          Thanks, William! Coming from you, I take that as an extra-nice compliment.
          Prisoner interrogation is the subject of a research project of mine. I once put up enough posts on the matter that a conservative regular here completely changed his mind on “enhanced interrogation.”
          I have a number of other quotes from our Founding Fathers, including a passage in a treaty we signed that spelled out the humane treatment prisoners were to receive.
          The primary objection to torture and abuse of prisoners is a moral one. It is contrary to the values found in the foundatrion stones of this nation.
          For those of lower moral principle, I will crush anyone trying to say it works. Always pay attention to their sources – none are the experts on the subject matter – professional career military, FBI, CIA or other agency interrogators.
          Further they, like nearly all the public, are unaware of how incredibly successful humane approaches have been for hundreds of years.
          The most successful interrogators in history – those studied at interrogation schools – are those who used humane approaches to rapidly get actionable intelligence that is far more accurate and reliable from what is obtained through coercive means.

          • William February 10th, 2016 at 01:47

            You made a deposit in your humanity account. Too many people simply withdraw and never put anything back.

            • burqa February 10th, 2016 at 20:43

              You are too kind.
              One of the interesting things I discovered was every professional, credentialed interrogator I found who commented on the subject was strongly opposed to torture and abuse of prisoners. I found over 60 who commented.
              I posted a lot online, including at Firedog Lake. Then a couple years ago I came across a book that looked as if they’d been copying what I posted.
              There came a time when my posts attracted the attention of a career U.S. Army interrogator who had also been an instructor at the interrogation school at Fort Huachuca. He contacted me privately and we’ve had some very interesting conversations. He once told me how cool it was to get important intelligence from a prisoner who doesn’t even know he gave anything up.
              To illustrate, he told me about Han Scharff, the top Luftwaffe interrogator during World War II. Scharff never laid a hand on anyone, and didn’t have to. He was so good he got intel from every downed Allied aviator he questioned.
              Once they had an American fighter pilot who wouldn’t talk. Scharff took him out for a walk in the mountains, just the two of them. They stopped off for beers along the way and had a convivial conversation about their families and plans for after the war. Military matters were not discussed. As they strolled back to the prison, Scharff turned and said, “America is a rich country, but I can’t understand why they can’t use just one color of tracers in their fighter planes’ machine guns. They have red and green ones.”
              The pilot laughed and said, “Oh, we can make them all one color if we want. The red ones let the pilot know he’s about out of ammunition.”
              That bit of information contributed to many German successes against Allied fighter pilots during the war, but the pilot had no idea he had given up something of such value.
              (Those are not exact quotes, and I’m not sure if it was the red ones or the green ones that warned the pilot. I have the story buried in my files, but am too lazy to look it up right now).

              I’m sure you have heard of the 14 approved approaches used by the military. These are used like plays in football, and before an interrogation an interrogator will often spend 2 or more hours putting together a game plan, using these approaches in various combinations. It can be pretty interesting how they do it.

              On more than one occasion I have come across accounts of interrogations where the prisoner was so shocked he wasn’t beaten up and tortured, but treated kindly, that they opened up right there.
              At Guantanamo, there were initial failures by rookies brought in, but things were cleaned up and the things that got prisoners to open up included fish filet sandwiches from McDonald’s and cooperative prisoners were also allowed to spend time in a separate hut where they were allowed to watch porn.

              • William February 11th, 2016 at 09:08

                There is a school Naval aircrew must attend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival,_Evasion,_Resistance_and_Escape
                The exact curriculum isn’t public information, but suffice to say your view supports the information disseminated at SERE school.

                • burqa February 11th, 2016 at 20:50

                  Here is former SERE school instructor Malcolm Nance:

                  Malcolm Nance interview
                  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/torturingdemocracy/interviews/malcolm_nance.html

                  Nance in Small Wars Journal
                  http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2009/06/ic-directive-203-and-usmc-inte/

                  ____________________

                  Note that Nance points out that the SERE schools are run by the JPRA. In 2002, the JPRA told the White House not to use these methods:

                  “The requirement to obtain information from an uncooperative source as quickly as possible – in time to prevent, for example, an impending terrorist attack that could result in loss of life – has been forwarded as a compelling argument for the use of torture. In essence; physical and/or psychological duress are viewed as an alternative to the more time-consuming conventional interrogation process. The error inherent in this line of thinking is the assumption that, through torture, the interrogator can extract reliable and accurate information. History and a consideration of human behavior would appear to refute this assumption….

                  … A subject in pain may provide an answer, any answer, or many answers in order to get the pain to stop…
                  … the application of extreme physical and/or psychological duress (torture) has some serious operational deficits, most notably the potential to result in unreliable information.”

                  – from “Operational Issues Pertaining to the Use of Physical/Psychological Coercion in Interrogation,” sent from the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (which administers the SEER program) to the Pentagon’s Office of the General Counsel when “harsh” interrogation techniques were being considered.

                  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403171.html

                  • William February 12th, 2016 at 09:39

                    I attended SERE school.

                    • burqa March 5th, 2016 at 23:41

                      Then you are more qualified than I to comment on what Nance said.

                      Here is a statement released by 20 former U.S. Army interrogators and interrogation technicians:
                      http://www.amnestyusa.org/denounce_torture/statement_on_interrogation.pdf

                      One line in there that encouraged me in my research and helped me focus on one of the more important points to make in the debate is:

                      “The experience of the signatories to the Statement ranges from the Vietnam era to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and Iraq. Of the interrogators with whom we were able to establish contact, 100% have expressed total agreement with the Statement”

                      Sure enough, the more I looked the more I found this born out. I have not only gathered quotes from military interrogators, but men and women serving in the FBI, CIA, MI5 and a few other outfits.
                      It is rare that 100% of the experts on a particular subject agree.
                      I find the field to be quite interesting and my research has gone beyond just Americans to include interrogators from other countries.
                      This is not a new conclusion. The most successful interrogators in history all employed humane methods.

                      In the debate, first we need to make the moral argument. The more I’ve looked, the more repugnance I’ve found on the part of the Founding Fathers for abuse and torture of prisoners.
                      The expedient argument on the effectiveness can easily be won by going to the experts on the subject matter and the historical record which shows that the most effective interrogators have been those who employed humane approaches. The pro-torture crowd simply can’t respond when asked why they prefer methods that are far less effective to those that bring the best results.

                    • burqa March 5th, 2016 at 23:48

                      When the above referenced statement was released to the Armed Services Committee, the Washington Post covered it and spoke with some of the interrogators.
                      Check this out:

                      http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/22/AR2006092201283_pf.html

                • burqa February 11th, 2016 at 22:06

                  This subject is going to heat up again, since we have GOP pro-torture candidates. We’re going to see it after the 2 parties settle on a candidate, too.
                  As with history and other subjects, I have tried to find the best qualified sources on the subject, in this case, the experts on the subject matter – professional, credentialed interrogators, including a number of interrogation school instructors.
                  I will be happy to fix y’all up with more than enough ammo to take to your other boards.

                  I also have some fine sources on the law and others who have commented on the subject who are worth listening to. One thing I’d like to find is remarks by President Ronald “Dutch” Reagan when he signed the UN Convention Against Torture. Probably some choice bits in there.

                  One part of my research that is almost done is working through the 9/11 Commission footnotes.
                  One argument used is that the guys they waterboarded weren’t talking.
                  Significant portions of the 9/11 Commission Report are based on interrogations of people like KSM, Abu Zubaidah, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Ramzi Binalshibh.. The footnotes do not give the text of those interrogations, but they give the dates of them and the body of the 911 Commission Report tells you the gist of what they said. Since I have the date when “enhanced interrogation” was approved, I have gone through the text and determined the info those prisoners gave up before “enhanced interrogation” was implemented.
                  They were singing like canaries before they were waterboarded….

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