Powell aide says torture helped build Iraq war case

[sabra]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Finding a "smoking gun" linking Iraq and al Qaeda became the main purpose of the abusive interrogation program the Bush administration authorized in 2002, a former State Department official told CNN on Thursday.

...

"Its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at preempting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al Qaeda," Wilkerson wrote in The Washington Note, an online political journal.

...

Representatives of the former vice president declined comment on Wilkerson's allegations. But Wilkerson told CNN that by early 2002, U.S. officials had decided that "we had al Qaeda pretty much on the run."

"The priority had turned to other purposes, and one of those purposes was to find substantial contacts between al Qaeda and Baghdad," he said.

...

Wilkerson wrote that in one case, the CIA told Cheney's office that a prisoner under its interrogation program was now "compliant," meaning agents recommended the use of "alternative" techniques should stop.

At that point, "The VP's office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods," Wilkerson wrote.

"The detainee had not revealed any al Qaeda-Baghdad contacts yet. This ceased only after Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, under waterboarding in Egypt, 'revealed' such contacts."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/14/iraq.torture/index.html

[Mrs. Overall]

1. THIS should be the focus--torturing to fabricate a war with Iraq.

[Happyhippychick]

2. This is news? I think we should talk about Pelosi, Swine Flu and Carrie Prejean some more!

This could be the downfall of that fuckwad Cheney and I will be glued to my television during his trial.

[mvd]

9. It's so frustrating that the media..

is scrutinizing Pelosi much more than those who ordered the torture!

[LynnTheDem]

3. A war crime of a war crime.

There is only one way for America to ever get past this.

[Captain Hilts]

4. Reword your title. It was used to help build the case, but did not do so. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Actually, it was the fabricated evidence from the torture of Al-Libi

that Colin Powell took to the UN in his infamous speech. Was he duped about the provenance of the information, or did he know it came from torture? That we have yet to learn. But it WAS used to build the case for war on Iraq.

[No Elephants]

7. Whether or not he know the info came from torture, Powell knew the info was

not reliable. He said proudly on national TV that he made sure, that when he addressed the UN, George Tenet was sitting behind him, right in the camera shot.

Now, let's parse that. Powell is saying, in effect, "I did not trust the intell. So, did I refuse to plead Bushco's case to the rest of the world, including the American people? Noooooo. I simply made sure George Tenet was in the camera shot, so I could point my finger at him when this hit the fan.

Bushco knew American people trusted Powell more than they trusted most of the other members of Bushco, so they wanted to use him to sell the war to America even more than they wanted to use him to sell it to the world. And he cooperated--as long as he could try to pass the buck to George Tenet if anyone tried to blame him for cooperating.

IMO, Powell is a turd.

[EFerrari]

8. And Wilkerson worked for him. DU seems to like Wilkerson a lot.

I don't trust him

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. USA tortures, and also ignores the UN, ICC and the Geneva Convention.

.
.
.

the whole World knows this.

All the US politicians care about is fooling their own taxpayers so they can keep getting the funds to behave as they always have.

From Hiroshima to Mai Lai to Fallujah (I'm sure I left out a few dozen);

the USA has shown it's complete disregard for human life, even it's own soldiers.