President Trump is ready to waterboard members of ISIS. Is he bringing torture back or just continuing the tradition?
“As far as I’m concerned, we have to fight fire with fire,” President Donald Trump said on Wednesday night in an interview with ABC News. In his first televised interview since being sworn in on January 20, Trump covered a wide range of topics. The comments regarding fighting fire with fire were in relation to the president’s view on how to combat the terror group Daesh (also known as ISIS).
Trump was questioned about his previous statements in support of the use of torture, specifically the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding. Trump said he believes waterboarding works and is considering reinstating the technique. However, Trump did admit that he will yield to the recommendations made by Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
“I will rely on Pompeo and Mattis and my group. And if they don’t want to do, that’s fine. If they do wanna do, then I will work toward that end. I want to do everything within the bounds of what you’re allowed to do legally,” Trump told World News Tonight anchor David Muir. “But do I feel it works? Absolutely, I feel it works.”
Pompeo was asked during his confirmation hearing if he would follow orders from Trump that called for torture. “Absolutely not. Moreover, I can’t imagine I would be asked that by the president-elect,” Pompeo said. “There is no doubt in my mind about the limitations placed not only on the DOD but on the intelligence agency, and I’ll always comply with the law.”
The president attempted to justify the use of torture as a response to violence from Daesh, specifically chopping off the heads of victims. “When they’re chopping off the heads of people because they happen to be a Christian in the Middle East, when ISIS is doing things that nobody has ever heard of since medieval times, would I feel strongly about waterboarding? As far as I’m concerned, we have to fight fire with fire,” he said. Trump also said he had spoken with intelligence officials “at the highest level” and they had confirmed that torture works.
Following Trump’s interview with ABC, a report of an alleged draft executive order began circulating. The White House claimed that the paper was not an official document. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he had no idea where the document came from. CIA director Pompeo told CNN he was “surprised” by the document’s instructions to reexamine the possibility of bringing back certain torture methods.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis also confirmed his apparent opposition to torture. “Secretary Mattis said in his confirmation process that he will abide by and is committed to upholding international law, the Law of Armed Conflict, Geneva Conventions and U.S. law, and that has not changed,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters.
This means that at least two of Trump’s policy advisers are maintaining a public anti-torture stance. We must wait to see what this actually means in the long run, but we should take a moment to note that torture is not being reimplemented by Trump. The corporate media and suddenly awake Democrats are feigning outrage at the supposed return of torture. However, torture did not end under the Obama administration.
The truth is that if Trump does continue to waterboard, he will be continuing a trend that began under George W. Bush and continued under Obama. Officially, the media claims that Obama ended torture and waterboarding in 2009. The reality is much darker. When running for president, Senator Obama promised to hold Bush officials accountable for the crimes perpetuated under that regime. However, in 2009, after a Department of Justice investigation was announced, President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder stated it was “time for reflection, not retribution.” The DOJ would eventually close all investigations into alleged abuse and conclude that no charges should be brought.
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Investigations by The Nation have found the use of CIA “black sites,” or secret locations for interrogation and torture, has increased under President Obama. One investigation found secret prisons in Somalia and another facility known as “Obama’s Guantanamo.” The Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan is reportedly home to regular beatings, loud blaring music, sleep prevention, and forced “stress positions.” Former detainees allege that there is a second, secret prison on Bagram Air Base that organizations like the Red Cross are denied access.
The most blatant example of continued torture under the Obama administration is the use of force-feeding at Guantanamo Bay. Many of the remaining detainees at the prison have been cleared of wrongdoing for years yet they cannot leave because most nations are not willing to harbor formerly suspected terrorists. One of these men is Syrian citizen Abu Wa’el Dhiab.
Dhiab has been at the military prison since 2002 and cleared for release since 2009. He is represented by attorneys with the international human rights organization Reprieve. Dhiab and others began a hunger-strike to protest their conditions and the military responded by force-feeding detainees. Dhiab recently asked the federal courts to stop the forced-feedings, as well as the process known as Forced Cell Extractions (FCE), where detainees are violently removed from their cells.
During the hearing attorney Cori Crider presented three expert witnesses. One of the witnesses was Boston University medical professor Sondra Crosby. Crosby examined Dhiab and stated that he complained of bleeding and pain from the tubes forced up his nose. He also stated that he had been forcibly removed 1,300 times since 2002. When Crosby saw footage of the forced-feedings she called it “disturbing.” There have also been reports of a disturbing forced-feeding process known as rectal feeding.
It has become increasingly obvious that both parties during the Bush and Obama administrations were aware that torture was happening. Late in 2014, the NY Post reported that Jose Rodriguez, who oversaw the interrogations program from 2002 to 2004, stated that all members of Congress were briefed on the programs. Rodriguez went as far as saying that House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi was briefed on “all of the techniques … she never objected to the techniques at all.” Rodriguez said Pelosi was specifically briefed on waterboarding and sleep deprivation.
Activist Post also reported on the release of a previously classified CIA inspector general report regarding the death of detainee Gul Rahman. While in detention Rahman was shackled using the “short chain” method. His hands were chained together. His feet were chained together. Then, a short chain was used to shackle his hands to his feet.
“This position forced Rahman, who was naked below the waist to sit on a cold concrete floor and prevented him from standing up,” according to the CIA inspector general’s report.
Trump wants to use torture to fight an enemy that was created in part by the actions and funds of the U.S. government and Western allies. This will completely destroy any remaining notion that America is a beacon of light, hope, and freedom. The continued and expanded use of torture will only hurt the people of this country. It has never been shown to be effective and will only create more enemies of the United States. It’s more important than ever to remind the free hearts and mind of this world the harsh truth about torture, especially in light of a president who is willing to waterboard.
Derrick Broze is an investigative journalist and liberty activist. He is the Lead Investigative Reporter for ActivistPost.com and the founder of the TheConsciousResistance.com. Follow him on Twitter. Derrick is the author of three books: The Conscious Resistance: Reflections on Anarchy and Spirituality and Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol. 1 and Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol. 2
Derrick is available for interviews. Please contact Derrick@activistpost.com
This article may be freely reposted in part or in full with author attribution and source link.
Who cares what is done to ISIS Vermin. Hack off a piece of their bodies every second day. They are not Soldiers but just about the lowest form of Subhuman imaginable.
I am against Torture, but with this filth, anything goes. John McCain can watch, as well.
John McCain was one who betrayed America to mitigate his torture in Nam. He also also ACTIVELY supports, advocates and trains ISIS. Start by torturing HIM, get the puppeteers, not the dumb canon fodder
The Geneva Convention delineates the rules on torture….We know that torture does not work…I will tell you anything to stop pain and threat of death or harm to my family……..we must treat prisoners according to the Geneva convention…what goes around comes around….Trump doesn’t know what he has gotten himself and his family involved in ….
Trump is a catalyst for change…fasten your seat belts…Peace Out!
The waterboarding won’t last long, if the prisoners just spew out CIA handler names.
He doesn’t need to do any torturing or drone killings. He simply has to tell everyone in his own government, and our “allies” in the ME, to simply stop providing weapons, food, water, money, and battlefield support to them. He needs to put an end to the oil piracy. ISIS will either go away or they’ll be liquidated.
Our newbie president knows MSM is fake news, he saw that plain as day during his campaign, but he still doesn’t know we are funding ISIS and the beheadings are theater? I’m glad I enjoy Kabuki cause it looks like I get four more years of free entertainment.
I would have thought that the CIA liar Clapper would have informed him by now as to who funds them or are they hiding the truth from the Commander in Chief?
They hide all kinds of information from the president. He’s just the cardboard cutout so The People have someone to keep the hopium flowing.
If Trump was on the net they couldn’t hide much of anything from him. No excuses!
Dropping single sentence tweets doesn’t mean he’s “on the net.” He doesn’t impress me as the kind of guy who sits around delving into conspiracy theories and woo-woo media.
Globalists side with these radical muslims and are funding much of the human destruction that they do. Who do you think is forcing EU and the US to accept thousands of immigrants into their borders. Accepting immigrants is not the answer to eradicate these terrorists. There are just too many corrupt governments that support these murderers.
How’s the free market gardening and produce sales coming, Derrick?
fairly well!
I would like to request that you somehow send out email notifications (as Activist Post does with these articles) when your CR has some vid or news we need to see. I don’t have time to wade through blogSites, but I never ignore an AP notice with the articles. Also, there is something interesting centering in J.Bush’s bookstore in Austin I would like to discuss with you… which could flourish if properly groomed and nurtured. I think you might like to learn about it. LCharles14@yahoo.com
“….fight fire with fire….”
No need for fire at all !
Just stop financing ISIS and Israhell and the region will go back to peace eventually.
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Torture CNN!
Has president Trump buckled under to the directives of the Bush-CIA-MOSSAD?
Pages 70-75 of former MOSSAD agent, Ari Ben-Menashe´s book, “Profits of War Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network” provides useful insight into Bush-CIA history.
Perhaps the most insightful info was provided by former USAF colonel L. Fletcher Prouty in his semi-autobiography, “The Secret Team the CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World.”
The book is available to read on-line, at this link: http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/ST/ST.html
It is preceded by chapter-subject index, one click on the chapter takes you there.
If Trump is serious about going after ISIS, then he needs to go after the globalists funding them and that use the internal US Shadow government against the people’s government. I doubt that will happen though.
Can we start with Obama and BIRTH certificate, school records. Money given to TERRORS and his kickbacks.
How anyone can still believe Trump and ISIS don’t have the same bosses is beyond me. Come on, the CIA created, funded and armed ISIS down to their Toyota trucks. Everybody knows that. And these isolated terrorist false flag events are staged, staged, staged. The CIA along with Mossad and M16 or whatever number British intelligence are currently using are creating most if not all of the terrorism going on today. They’re creating chaos, folks, so they can jump in with their order – a new (Old) world order where one entity polices the world, so please, heed this warning that it’s all a game to them, a game where the only losers are us.
All Tramp, sorry Trump, has to do is to get congress to stop funding ISIS
He said he would defer to Mattis on torture ie NO TORTURE! If the Donald is serious just cut off ISIS’s US Treasury checks!
The lawfulness of torture legal briefs came from Bush Administration DOJ attorneys who knew it was wrong and lawless, and were rewarded for doing so with cushy jobs, one of whom is working at the law school at UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall). Yes, even Berkeley does favors for presidential administrations for obvious reasons.