| Submit your comments on this article | ||
| Terror Networks | ||
| Fears that US will use ’torture lite’ on al-Qaida No 3 | ||
| 2003-03-05 | ||
| Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was yesterday believed to be under interrogation at a US base in Afghanistan. The White House denied he was being tortured, although there is speculation that a variety of techniques known in the intelligence community as "torture lite" would be used to get information from him. And this is a problem because ... ? Mohammed, who is said to to be the number three in al-Qaida, was arrested on Saturday in Pakistan, in a joint operation by the CIA and Pakistani police. He was initially interrogated in Pakistan but has now been moved. The US does not comment on individual prisoners held in the wake of September 11, but Pakistani officials said they understood that he was now being held in Afghanistan, reportedly at the Bagram base. I guess Bagram really is lovely this time of year! The arrest follows last month's capture in Pakistan of Muhammed Abdel Rahman, a son of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the UN offices in New York. Pretty soon we'll be hearing about how Bagram is just Gitmo North. Information provided by Mr Rahman led to the latest arrest, according to a report in the New York Times. Happy, happy, joy, joy. I'd keep these stories coming just to make the remaining al-Qaeda'rs nervous. There was also speculation that Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who was arrested in Pakistan last year, had given information about Mohammed under interrogation. The two had been "Bah! Ees no-thing!" "The arrest of a few individuals from within al-Qaida's ranks will have no bearing on the organisation's functioning," Mr Wali said "Excuse me, but you're not wearing a wire, are you?" Interrogators are likely to seek two key pieces of information from Mohammed: plans for attacks on the US or US interests, and the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in response to questions about the detention of Mohammed: "The standard for any type of interrogation of somebody in American custody is to be humane and to follow all international laws and accords dealing with this type subject. That is precisely what has been happening and exactly what will happen."
Tisk, tisk. Randy Hamud, who represents a number of Arabs detained in San Diego, said he believed his clients had been taken to countries where they could be tortured. There have also been reports that police in countries such as Pakistan and Jordan are given prisoners by the US in the knowledge that they will be tortured. Oh, my. A former member of US navy intelligence said that "torture lite" — sleep deprivation, and placing prisoners in awkward or painful positions for hours at a time — would be used. Personally I'd sit them in the middle of a swine farm for a spell. Nothing like a little hog-farming to clear out the sinuses! The Democratic senator John Rockefeller suggested at the weekend that the US might consider turning over Mohammed to a country that does not ban torture. He told CNN: "I wouldn't take anything off the table where he is concerned, because this is the man who has killed hundreds and hundreds of Americans over the last 10 years." He had since said that he was not condoning torture. Certainly not.
Giggle juice and bagpipes. There was also speculation that Mohammed would be questioned about the murder last year of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Now there's something we need to get all the details on. Like for instance, whose hand held the knife. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 My God, Wills! We *do* have to stay within the Geneva Convention, you know! |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-06 09:10:05 |
| #9 I wonder if lawyer Randy Hamud's name will come up in one of Khalid's torture lite sessions, or in some of the flotsam and jettsom found in Khalid's safe house. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-05 22:52:11 |
| #8 I can think of 3000 good reasons why all the intel this guy has should be extracted by any means necessary. |
| Posted by: john 2003-03-05 19:43:28 |
| #7 We should take this fat hairbag and make him watch Barbra streisand and Michael Moore have hot whipped cream sex..... |
| Posted by: Wills 2003-03-05 17:13:02 |
| #6 I've said it before: All it takes is one hour, murdering scum-bag Khalid, some Astroglide, a cattle prod, and 5 quarts of pigs blod. Minus the Astroglide... |
| Posted by: grillmaster 2003-03-05 12:17:16 |
| #5 Fears? Who has fears? I sure as hell don't. Screw "torture lite", give him the full dose. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-05 12:10:06 |
| #4 This guy is no fundamentalist, so using female intelligence officers to question him is out. We could play Chrissie Hynde really loudly. And feed him grits. Oh, yeah, and one other thing. Hook him up to a hand cranked generator and let a NYC fireman crank it. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-03-05 07:27:49 |
| #3 We have ways of making you talk. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-03-05 05:22:01 |
| #2 It couldn't happen to a nicer guy, could it ? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-05 04:26:49 |
| #1 Geez, why did Dustin Hoffman as "Mumbles" from Dick Tracy pop in my head??? BigBoydiditBigBoydidit.... |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-05 01:02:22 |