A source within the Central Intelligence Agency says that a May 30, 2005 U.S. Department of Justice report corroborates the fact that the use of aggressive interrogation techniques on al Qaeda’s Khalid Sheik Mohammed “encouraged” him to reveal useful intelligence that allowed US law enforcement to derail an attack on Los Angeles.

Part of the interrogation consisted of the technique known as waterboarding, which is considered very unpleasant but a far cry from torture – techniques that may lead to the death or the maiming of a suspect.

Prior to being waterboarded, Sheik Mohamed was questioned regarding further terrorist attacks on the United States and, according to the CIA source, he replied, “You will know, soon enough.”

According to the previously classified DOJ memorandum that was released by President Barack Obama last week, the thwarted attack – which Khalid referred to as the “Second Wave” -planned ”to use East Asian operatives to crash a hijacked airliner into a building in Los Angeles.”

It’s been widely reported that Khalid Sheik Mohammed was the mastermind of the first attacks on the United States, which destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and part of the Pentagon in Northern Virginia on September 11, 2001.

After the terrorist leader was captured, he was far from being cooperative with CIA investigators. Khalid and his Jihadist comrades, Zubaydah and Nashiri, were the only persons ever subjected to waterboarding by the CIA, according to the source who requested anonymity. However, some terrorist detainees were subjected to other interrogation “tools” such as sleep deprivation, temporary confinement to small spaces, slapping with an open hand, and food deprivation.

After he was subjected to intense waterboarding, Sheik Khalid became very helpful by providing verifiable information that led law enforcement nabbing Al Qaeda terrorists and associates. Khalid’s information also aided law enforcement in busting the East Asian terrorists were planning to launch a 9-11 type attack in Los Angeles, California.

During this war on terrorism, the definition of torture has become so convoluted that Americans are confused as to what is acceptable and what is not in a time of global war. It’s understandable why liberals believe aggressive interrogation is something to be avoided at all costs: they still believe that we should employ a law enforcement model to combat terrorism. Treating terrorists as we do auto thieves and robbers is their obvious goal.

While the people really fighting the war on terrorism never even mention the word “torture,” the mainstream media are keeping it on the front pages of newspapers, on the covers of newsmagazines and as lead stories on news broadcasts.

To be sure, no one is condoning the use of torture. The original interpretation of torture was extreme measures that could cause death or serious injury to a suspect. No reasonable person would condone such conduct. But now torture includes humiliating a suspect, loud noises such as blasting heavy metal music, sleep deprivation or having suspects stand in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time. The liberal reaction to the treatment of terrorists should be juxtaposed with U.S. government treatment of American citizens during the administration of their hero, President Bill Clinton.

In the early 1990s a religious sect – the Branch Davidians – whose leader was a charismatic, sociopath who conned his followers into believing he was a modern day Messiah, created a compound in Waco, Texas. As a result of their self-imposed exile they became self-sufficient and desired only one thing from society: to be left alone.

In order to protect themselves and their property, they maintained an arsenal within their compound which greatly distressed the federal government including Attorney General Janet Reno. In order to rationalize what was to come, there were phony allegations of child abuse and sexual assault leveled at the inhabitants of the Branch Davidian compound. The Reno Justice Department leaked phony stories about Branch Davidians buying semi-automatic firearms – which is legal in Texas – and turning them into fully automatic “assault weapons.”

At the same time that Reno and her minions in the Justice Department – including current Attorney General Jeffrey Holder – were prohibiting federal law enforcement from taking action against suspected terrorists and their sympathizers, they were planning a quasi-military operation to disarm and arrest members of Branch Davidian.

The rest is common knowledge. The extreme measures used against American citizens (including sleep deprivation, blasting loud music and noise, etc.) went unchallenged by the news media of the day. When the compound was attacked using military tactics and excessive deadly force that resulted in the death dozens of men, women and children, and with the compound engulfed by flames, there was absolutely no condemnation of Bill Clinton or Janet Reno. Even some conservatives appeared to condone such horror being inflicted on their fellow citizens.

Apparently, in America, if you’re a liberal you can escape punishment for even the most unconscionable behavior.

Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Jim Kouri CPP
FSM Contributing Editor Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). Kouri's website is located at http://jimkouri.us