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May 13, 2011

John McCain: Torture Did Not Lead to Bin Laden 
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Republican Sen. John Mc Cain of Arizona took to the floor of the Senate
Thursday to weigh in on the debate over whether the Bush
administration's use of torture had helped uncover evidence used to
track Osama bin Laden. Mc Cain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in
Vietnam, directly criticized former Attorney General Michael Mukasey who
has claimed torture led to bin Laden.

Sen. John Mc Cain (R-AZ): “I have sought further information from the
staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and they confirm for me
that, in fact, the best intelligence gained from a CIA
detainee—information describing Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti’s real role in
Al-Qaeda and his true relationship to Osama bin Laden—was obtained
through standard, non-coercive means, not through any ‘enhanced
interrogation technique.’ In short, it was not torture or cruel,
inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees that got us the major
leads that ultimately enabled our intelligence community to find Osama
bin Laden. I hope former Attorney General Mukasey will correct his
misstatement.”



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