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April 30, 2012

Probe: No Intelligence Gains Through Torture Techniques 
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A Democrat-led Congressional probe has found there is no evidence
torture practices employed by the CIA under the Bush White House have
led to significant intelligence gains. After a nearly three-year
inquiry, investigators with the Senate Intelligence Committee found the
so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" played a minimal role in
U.S. intelligence coups, including the locating and killing of Osama bin
Laden a year ago. The finding comes amid a slew of media appearances by
a leading Bush-era official, Jose Rodriguez, to promote his new book and
defend the torture techniques. Speaking to CBS' 60 Minutes, Rodriguez
— the former head of CIA clandestine operations and former lead
interrogator — discussed how the CIA obtained legal authorization
for torture from the White House.

Jose Rodriguez: "We needed to get everybody in government to put their
big-boy pants on and provide the authorities that we needed."

Lesley Stahl: "Their big boy pants on —"

Jose Rodriguez: "Big boy pants. Let me tell you, I had had a lot of
experience in the agency where we had been left to hold the bag. And I
was not about to let that happen for the people that work for me."

Lesley Stahl: "There wasn't gonna be any deniability on this one?"

Jose Rodriguez: "There was not gonna be any deniability. And I tell you
something. In August of 2002, I felt I had all the authorities that I
needed, all the approvals that I needed. The atmosphere in the country
was different. Everybody wanted us to save American lives."

 

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