Re-Examining Bush Era Interrogation Tactics

Author Interviews

One Man Says No To Harsh Interrogation Techniques()  

Matthew Alexander, a pseudonym for the author, is pictured with another interrogator who was part of the task force looking for Zafar.

February 14, 2011 Matthew Alexander, a pseudonym for the author, was a military interrogator in Iraq who rejected previously used harsh techniques. He writes about how his team hunted down two key al-Qaida operatives in Kill or Capture.

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Politics

Cheney's Role In CIA Briefings Unusual, But Legal()  

Dick Cheney speaks at the Heritage Foundation in January 2008.

June 3, 2009 As vice president, Dick Cheney led CIA briefings with senior members of Congress on Bush-era harsh interrogation program, a news report says. Intelligence experts say Cheney's role, while highly unusual, was within legal parameters — and underscores his stake in the program.

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Politics

Obama, Cheney Face Off On Torture()  

Left: President Obama at National Archives/Right: Cheney At AEI

May 21, 2009 In dramatic, back-to-back speeches, the president repudiated the Bush administration for choosing "expedience" over the rule of law. The former VP, meanwhile, warned that Obama's efforts to find "middle ground" would leave the country exposed to attack.

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Politics

Torture Debate Ties Washington In Partisan Knots()  

May 20, 2009 The rhetoric over harsh interrogation tactics — and clamor for disclosure and inquiry — are intensifying. President Obama is being urged to step in and name an independent panel to examine what went wrong in the Bush Justice Department.

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Law

CIA Contractors Played Big Role In Interrogations()  

May 15, 2009 Congressional testimony this week showed that private CIA contractors were a driving force behind harsh interrogations. Although there are lawsuits against military contractors involved in detainee abuse, there has been far less legal action against contractors who worked for the CIA.

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U.S.

CIA Won't Release Memos Sought By Cheney()  

May 14, 2009 Vice President Dick Cheney says the two documents would show that harsh interrogation techniques used during the Bush administration were effective, but the CIA says they contain information that is the subject of pending litigation.

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Politics

Parties Face Off Over CIA Interrogation Briefings()  

May 13, 2009 Republicans have used a CIA memo to point out that top Democrats who were briefed on interrogation techniques used under the Bush administration did not act to stop them. But Democrats say that's not fair, arguing that they had few options for taking action on what was classified information.

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U.S.

Ex-FBI Interrogator Calls Harsh Tactics 'Ineffective'()  

May 13, 2009 Former senior FBI agent Ali Soufan, who was involved in the interrogation of captured al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah, tells a Senate Judiciary panel on Wednesday that the use of harsh techniques to extract information was "slow, ineffective and unreliable."

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U.S.

Critics Skeptical Of Made-For-TV Torture Claims()  

May 5, 2009 The "ticking time bomb" scenario that prompts officials to torture terrorists for information might exist in movies and on television, but experts say they are skeptical that similar scenarios happen in real life.

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Law

Torture Memo Probe May Lead To Disbarments()  

May 5, 2009 As the Justice Department nears the end of its investigation into lawyers who wrote memos authorizing harsh interrogations, sources tell NPR that the report will refer people to bar associations for possible disciplinary action. But they also suggest that the investigation may stop short of recommending criminal charges.

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