Excerpts from Retired Vice Admiral Lee Gunn's testimony before Congress in early March of 2009.
"An independent commission could undertake the task of examining the facts and, in so doing, weigh the true effectiveness of the Bush administration's torture tactics. Did torture actually uncover actionable intelligence? Did it interrupt plans? And did it actually save lives? If so, what were the countervailing costs to our national security?" - (cont.)
(cont.) "Did the use of torture spark terrorist recruitment, increase danger to our troops, and damage U.S. leadership and prestige? And did these costs outweigh the benefits? Might actionable intelligence have also been obtained by the non-coercive methods experienced intelligence interrogators experts recommend and employ? What strategic security gains could be reaped from shifting to a policy of complete, consistent and transparent compliance with human rights norms?" (cont.)
(cont.) "The Bush Administration's misguided embrace of torture, secret prisons and renditions to torture came at an enormous cost to our American values, our laws, and our counter terrorism efforts. Repairing our reputation as a nation committed to human rights and building a more sustainable framework for national security policy going forward requires a comprehensive examination of the policies and practices that sanctioned torture and abuse." (cont.)
(cont.) "This Congress and the new Administration have a window of opportunity to conduct an examination that signals to the American people and to the world that the policies of the last seven years were an aberration and that the United States is invested in creating an effective, long-term strategy for counter terrorism and intelligence gathering which adheres to American principles and values and to United States and international law." (cont.)
(cont.) "The stakes are incredibly high. In the balance hangs the ability of the United States to maintain the integrity of our counter terrorism policy; improve intelligence cooperation with allies; support the human intelligence community in employing proven, effective methods for gathering actionable information; and re-establish the moral authority necessary to restore the United States as a world leader in upholding human rights."
Excerpts from Retired Vice Admiral Lee Gunn's testimony before Congress in early March of 2009.
"An independent commission could undertake the task of examining the facts and, in so doing, weigh the true effectiveness of the Bush administration's torture tactics. Did torture actually uncover actionable intelligence? Did it interrupt plans? And did it actually save lives? If so, what were the countervailing costs to our national security?" - (cont.)
im4wur2 2 years ago
(cont.) "Did the use of torture spark terrorist recruitment, increase danger to our troops, and damage U.S. leadership and prestige? And did these costs outweigh the benefits? Might actionable intelligence have also been obtained by the non-coercive methods experienced intelligence interrogators experts recommend and employ? What strategic security gains could be reaped from shifting to a policy of complete, consistent and transparent compliance with human rights norms?" (cont.)
im4wur2 2 years ago
(cont.) "The Bush Administration's misguided embrace of torture, secret prisons and renditions to torture came at an enormous cost to our American values, our laws, and our counter terrorism efforts. Repairing our reputation as a nation committed to human rights and building a more sustainable framework for national security policy going forward requires a comprehensive examination of the policies and practices that sanctioned torture and abuse." (cont.)
im4wur2 2 years ago
(cont.) "This Congress and the new Administration have a window of opportunity to conduct an examination that signals to the American people and to the world that the policies of the last seven years were an aberration and that the United States is invested in creating an effective, long-term strategy for counter terrorism and intelligence gathering which adheres to American principles and values and to United States and international law." (cont.)
im4wur2 2 years ago
(cont.) "The stakes are incredibly high. In the balance hangs the ability of the United States to maintain the integrity of our counter terrorism policy; improve intelligence cooperation with allies; support the human intelligence community in employing proven, effective methods for gathering actionable information; and re-establish the moral authority necessary to restore the United States as a world leader in upholding human rights."
im4wur2 2 years ago
A link to Vice-Admiral Gunn's complete testimony before Congress is available at the bottom of the "more info" drop down.
im4wur2 2 years ago