MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'interrogation'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:40:55 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883554&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fsi7L_NQ6gjc%2F By David RittgersI have an article in today’s Los Angeles Times pointing out that waterboarding is dead as a tool for U.S. interrogators. So get over it. I also make the point that it died under Bush’s watch, so the next time Dick Cheney trots out a proposal to bring back waterboarding, he’s quarreling mostly with his old boss and not the current commander-in-chief. Over at the Washington Post, Allen McDuffee thinks this is unfair: It may well be the case that Cheney has unfinished business with Bush over dropping the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, but it is at least a selective reading for Rittgers to suggest that Cheney’s words are not directed at Obama with the hope that they carry political consequences for the administration. It is unlikely that even Cheney himse... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883554 Tue, 31 May 2011 20:39:35 +0100 4883554 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828859&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FO3uaghfl2zE%2F By George Scoville It is false to assume that GM’s earnings report means the auto bailout was a success. It is false that, among other things, failing to raise the debt limit means defaulting on our obligations. It is false that Osama bin Laden’s death means torture is a good idea. It is false that international institutions can deliver what they say they can deliver. It is false that oil speculators are to blame for fluctuating oil prices: Monday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828859 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:01:40 +0100 4828859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4794846&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtXrB8-L_WSI%2F By Tim LynchMatthew Alexander, former senior military interrogator in Iraq, says the abuse and torture of prisoners hurt the U.S. by giving up the moral high ground.  He says the policy also helped al-Qaeda recruit and very likely slowed the effort to find bin Laden. More here, here, and here. On Prisoner Treatment and Interrogation is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4794846 Fri, 06 May 2011 15:15:31 +0100 4794846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159215&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F70OLwe5OEK4%2F By David RittgersThat’s what the attorney for former CIA officer Jose Rodriguez is saying about his client. Rodriguez and other CIA personnel destroyed videotapes of detainee interrogations. The Justice Department announced that Rodriguez will not face criminal charges, but did not elaborate on the reasoning behind the decision. Rodriguez’s decision to get rid of the tapes came after White House lawyers, responding to a court order, instructed the CIA not to destroy any evidence associated with detainee interrogations. I know that the term “slippery slope” is overused, but it’s clearly evident here. Thwart the rule of law by declaring torture legal, thwart it again to cover up your actions. Destroying Evidence = American Hero is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (S... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159215 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:42:52 +0100 4159215 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3845057&cid=t_197266_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fmedical-experts-criticize-cia-physician-participation-enhanced-interrogation%2F Drs. Leonard S. Rubenstein and Stephen Xenakis have issued a report strongly criticizing the physicians who aided the CIA in developing and devising enhanced interrogation techniques that they maintain was simply torture. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3845057 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:16:39 +0100 3845057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538078&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBab5R3VnWa4%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanBusinessweek has a story quoting a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, Michael Wildes, speculating that Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, made so many mistakes (leaving his house keys in the car, not knowing about the vehicle identification number, making calls from his cellphone, getting filmed, buying the car himself) that he may be the “dumbest terrorist in the world.” But Wildes can’t accept the idea that an al Qaeda type terrorist would be so incompetent and suggests that Shahzad was “purposefully hapless” to generate intelligence about the police reaction for the edification of his buddies back in Pakistan. Give me a break. This incompetence is hardly unprecedented. Three years ago Bruce Schneier wrote an art... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538078 Wed, 05 May 2010 18:14:44 +0100 3538078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3440777&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FM7nuzyiSBno%2F By David RittgersThe cover story of this month’s National Interest focuses on different approaches to terrorist interrogation. Matthew Alexander, former senior military interrogator and author of How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq, profiles Colonel Tito Karnavian, the chief of intelligence for Detachment 88, Indonesia’s premier counterterrorist force. Karnavian’s approach to interrogation is strategic, as opposed to the tactical scenarios that dominate the debate in America. The goal of the interrogators is not intelligence information that can prevent future terrorist attacks, but the conversion of the extremists into advocates against violent jihad. Interrogators have, de facto, become the primary ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3440777 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:21:06 +0100 3440777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322345&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0UC1gBFocaw%2F By Julian SanchezI’ve been meaning to follow up on Gene Healy’s post from last week on the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects.  I share Gene’s bemusement at the howls emanating from Republicans who have abruptly decided that George Bush’s longstanding policy of dealing with terrorism cases through the criminal justice system is unacceptable with a Democrat in the White House.  But I also think it’s worth stressing that the arguments being offered — both in the specific case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and more generally — aren’t very persuasive even if we suppose that they’re not politically motivated. Two caveats.  First, folks on both sides would do well to take initial reports about the degree of cooperation terror ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322345 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:45:01 +0100 3322345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239548&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGm8h5rMVYhE%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: Terror suspects: Eric Holder’s defense (nothing new here)–agree or disagree? My response: There’s no question that after the killings in Little Rock and Fort Hood, the decision to try the KSM five in a civilian court in downtown Manhattan, and the Christmas Day bombing attempt (the government’s before and after behavior alike), the Obama-Holder “law-enforcement” approach to terrorism is under serious bipartisan scrutiny.  And Holder’s letter yesterday to his critics on the Hill isn’t likely to assuage them, not least because it essentially ignores issues brought out in the January 20 hearings before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, like the government’s failure to have its promise... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239548 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:38:06 +0100 3239548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231458&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZlRzM88K57g%2F By Roger PilonToday, Politico Arena asks: Terror trials: Is it time for the administration to retreat and rethink? Is it generally mishandling the terrorism issue? My response: On no issue is President Obama getting acquainted with reality more clearly than terrorism, or so it seems.  He blazed into office, guns holstered, as the anti-Bush, putting Eric Holder’s Justice Department in charge, not of the War on Terror, a phrase he banished from his administration’s lexicon, but of “bringing those who planned and plotted the [9/11] attacks to justice,” as Holder put it in November when he announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others would be given civilian trials in downtown Manhattan.  But as the manifold costs of such a trail became increasingly apparent,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231458 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:37:34 +0100 3231458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2828177&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXB8ErUSdjMA%2F Retired Generals Charles Krulak and Joseph Hoar have an op-ed over at the Miami Herald making some important arguments against using “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Krulak served as Commandant of the Marine Corps and Hoar served as CENTCOM Commander. CENTCOM is short for Central Command, the regional military command responsible for the Middle East. Krulak and Hoar endorse the Interrogation Task Force’s recommendation that all future detainee interrogations be conducted within the guidelines in the Army Field Manual on Interrogation. In doing so, they make a point that may be difficult to see unless you have been a leader in the military: condoning torture, or any mistreatment of prisoners, erodes discipline in a military organization. Rules about the humane treatment of prisone... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2828177 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:56:07 +0100 2828177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2828186&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgT-ocop5HCg%2F Despite Barack Obama’s frequent paeans to the value of transparency during the presidential campaign, his Justice Department has incensed civil liberties advocates by parroting the Bush administration’s broad invocations of the “state secrets privilege” in an effort to torpedo lawsuits challenging controversial interrogation and surveillance policies. Though in many cases the underlying facts have already been widely reported, DOJ lawyers implausibly claimed, not merely that particular classified information should not be aired in open court, but that any discussion of the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” of detainees to torture-friendly regimes, or of the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping, would imperil national security. That may—emphasis on m... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2828186 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:51:30 +0100 2828186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2765999&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FirnGW8C1JHU%2F Over at The Corner, Rich Lowry put up a post on detainee interrogations that I responded to. Follow-up posts are available here and here. Jay Nordlinger steps in to offer the view that, with terrorists, the difference between a “schlub” and a “monster” isn’t much. A pathetic radical can cause a lot of damage with just a little bit of luck. This may be true, but there is a valuable ends-means calculation that must be considered (also addressed in Julian Sanchez’s post here). How many times must we use coercive interrogation and get nothing, suffering the inevitable backlash in public opinion and enemy recruiting, for each intelligence success? If you are willing to torture a dozen/hundred/thousand men for each schlub, you will motivate a sufficient number of monsters to make a s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2765999 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:34:46 +0100 2765999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2766002&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMYE1NNP_d1A%2F Veronique de Rugy put up a post at The Corner referencing Rich Lowry’s defense of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and my response. Rich has since responded. With regard to the apprehension of Uzair Paracha, an Al Qaeda facilitator in New York, it seems likely that the apprehension of Majid Khan in Pakistan four days after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s (KSM) apprehension came from material picked up with KSM and not from interrogation. The key here is that when Majid Khan was in Pakistan, Paracha was pretending to be Majid Khan in communications with immigration officials. Detective work was probably what brought this guy under the microscope. However, I’m willing to lay that aside because, as Rich points out, there is probably more to the story that shouldn’t be declassified. As... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2766002 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:48:46 +0100 2766002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2734016&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Frz6chjF1HnE%2F How could a country that claims to abide by principles like constitutional government and the rule of law do anything other than investigate credible claims of official abuse? News that Attorney General Holder will appoint a prosecutor to investigate such claims will only surprise or upset people who have lost track of our national values. CIA Director Leon Panetta doesn’t help the cause by issuing a statement to the CIA staff saying, “America is a nation at war.” Whether we are or not, that lullaby-in-reverse — reassuring CIA staff with a poke at the panic button — would seem to ratify expediency over professionalism. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2734016 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:39:43 +0100 2734016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570376&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYTWEc7fIpeU%2F Andy McCarthy makes a good point over at The Corner about Laith al-Khazali, a member of a Shiite militant group responsible for the deaths of American troops in Iraq. Al-Khazali has been released, allegedly as part of negotiations with terrorists holding British hostages. Senators Sessions and Kyl have questioned this action in a letter to President Obama. McCarthy lays out the facts on al-Khazali here. Al-Khazali participated in a sophisticated attack on American troops in Karbala. The militants wore American uniforms and took American soldiers hostage. After leaving the site of the attack, the militants executed their prisoners. Though I have disagreed with McCarthy on other issues, he makes a valid point here. Al-Khazali is guilty of honest-to-goodness war crimes. Wearing an enemy&#8217... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570376 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:14:27 +0100 2570376 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405033&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJ3_UiV5SNg8%2F The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings produced an ugly picture of the role torture played in interrogating Al Qaeda leaders. The testimony of former FBI agent Ali Soufan shows how traditional intelligence techniques worked on Abu Zubaydah and “enhanced” techniques did nothing to advance national security interests: Immediately after Abu Zubaydah was captured, a fellow FBI agent and I were flown to meet him at an undisclosed location. We were both very familiar with Abu Zubaydah and have successfully interrogated al-Qaeda terrorists. We started interrogating him, supported by CIA officials who were stationed at the location, and within the first hour of the interrogation, using the Informed Interrogation Approach, we gained important actionable intelligence. We were once again... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405033 Wed, 13 May 2009 20:01:58 +0100 2405033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389672&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZS1s8f2amtQ%2F Charles Krauthammer’s recent column tells us that the wisdom of torture is undeniable. According to Krauthammer, there are two situations where torture is justified: the ticking time bomb scenario and when we capture high-ranking terrorists and conclude that giving them the third degree may save lives. Furthermore, it would be “imprudent” for anyone who would not use torture to be named the commander of Central Command (CENTCOM), the military organization in charge of American forces in the Middle East. The generals who have been in charge of CENTCOM and other national security officials disagree. Here is a video of General Petraeus, current commander of Central Command, saying that American forces cannot resort to torturing prisoners: The open letter Petraeus m... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389672 Mon, 04 May 2009 16:47:30 +0100 2389672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364925&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fl4_sCp3d1K8%2F My colleague Chris Preble sketches out some of the moral pitfalls that come with authorizing torture in his post.  Beyond that, history shows that utilitarian claims that torture has enhanced our safety are also mistaken. While torture can in some instances provide valid intelligence, it can also produce false information motivated only by a desire to end suffering.  Successful interrogators from World War II to the modern day have used rapport and psychology, not brutality, to get inside the heads of their enemies. The Air Force interrogator who helped bag Abu Musab al Zarqawi, writing under the pseudonym Matthew Alexander, says that the difference between an interrogator and a used car salesman is that the interrogator has to abide by the Geneva Conventions.  No torture there, and a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364925 Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:21:58 +0100 2364925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364927&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLHxEeS-vUXk%2F Over at The Wall Street Journal, Cong. Peter Hoekstra calls for an investigation into “what the Obama administration may be doing to endanger the security our nation has enjoyed because of interrogations and other antiterrorism measures implemented since Sept. 12, 2001.” Hoekstra implies, or at least clearly believes, that Obama’s renunciation of torture has made the country less safe. Rest assured, when the next attack occurs (and there will be another attack), Hoekstra and other supporters of torture will claim vindication, even though they won’t be able to point to direct evidence that torture would have averted the attack. It is equally impossible to prove a negative — why something does not occur — as it is to prove that an action not taken in the p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364927 Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:39:57 +0100 2364927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347787&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWzPAtqLgCZg%2F Michael McConnell went on Fox News Sunday this week, fiercely objecting to the Obama administration’s release of Bush-era memos regarding “enhanced interrogation techniques.” He and three other former CIA directors objected to the release. That common front might draw the memo release into doubt if it wasn’t a given that CIA directors are always going to defend the interests of the CIA. McConnell trotted out the tired “war” on terror metaphor. This framing may be exciting to him and his colleagues, but it is strategic error to address terrorism this way, and the American public chose a presidential candidate last November who campaigned to emphasize hope over fear. Intoning about war did not help McConnell’s case. The heart of his argument was that... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347787 Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:21:42 +0100 2347787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347796&cid=t_197266_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FO-J6fyZKwn4%2F President Obama’s decision to release Bush-era memos discussing “enhanced interrogation techniques” is the right decision. Critics, such as the one featured in this Politico article, fail to comprehend terrorism as a strategy. Thus, they are locked into counterproductive policies like secrecy and torture. Let’s start with the strategic logic of terrorism: By goading strong powers into overreaction and error, terrorism weakens those powers and strengthens itself. Among other things, overreaction and misdirection on the part of the strong power draw sympathy and support to terrorists as it confirms the terrorist narrative that they are in a struggle against evil powers. Torture or credible accounts of torture provide confirmation of a suspicion among relatively unsoph... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347796 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:47:36 +0100 2347796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1714378&cid=t_197266_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F19%2Fshould-psychologists-assist-military-interogations%2F Benedict Carey of the New York Times has an interesting piece on a debate within the psychology profession over whether psychologists should provide assistance on military interrogations. We excerpt the article below. * * * They have closely studied suspects, looking for mental quirks. They have suggested lines of questioning. They have helped decide when a confrontation is too intense, or when to push harder. More than those in the other healing professions, psychologists have played a central role in the military and C.I.A. interrogation of people suspected of being enemy combatants. But now the profession, long divided over this role, is considering whether to make any involvement in military interrogations a violation of its code of ethics. At the American Psychological Association’... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1714378 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:01:42 +0100 1714378 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1700672&cid=t_197266_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F08%2F12%2Fwhy-do-innocent-people-confess%2F Most of us look scratch our heads when we hear about an incidence of someone being found innocent, despite being convicted of a crime by a jury. We think, “How could the jury have gotten it so wrong?” But we really sit up and notice when not only an innocent person is sent to prison, not just on an eyewitness’s testimony or such, but on the convicted person’s own confession! What could lead an innocent person to confess to a crime they did not commit? Sadly, this happens far more often than you might realize. Somewhere between 20 to 25% of all DNA exonerations involve innocent people who confessed to the crime. DNA exonerations are where a crime’s evidence is re-evaluated and tested using modern DNA discovery procedures not available at the time the crime wa... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1700672 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:13:00 +0100 1700672