Tammy Bruce: Former Agent: Waterboarding Saves Lives But Should be Banned

Former Agent: Waterboarding Saves Lives But Should be Banned

So now other people should die so this man can feel morally superior. Lovely.

Ex-CIA agent: Waterboarding 'saved lives'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A former CIA agent who participated in interrogations of terror suspects said Tuesday that the controversial interrogation technique of "waterboarding" has saved lives, but he considers the method torture and now opposes its use...

Waterboarding begins by placing a suspect on a table with the suspect's feet slightly elevated, said Kiriakou, who was waterboarded several years ago as part of his CIA training. He said he elected not to learn how to perform the technique, which is designed to emulate the sensation of drowning.

Once a suspect is secured on the table, interrogators wrap his or her face in a cellophane-like material, Kiriakou said. "There is a bladder, or a water source, above the head with water pouring down on the mouth, so no water is going into your mouth, but it induces a gag reflex and makes you feel like you're choking," Kiriakou said. Video Watch the ex-agent describe the procedure »

Kiriakou said he lasted only a few seconds during his training because his body felt like it was seizing up almost immediately.

"It's entirely unpleasant," Kiriakou said. "You are so full of tension that you tense up, your muscles tighten up. It's very uncomfortable."

Abu Zubayda lasted a little longer, said Kiriakou, but not much.

The former agent, who said he participated in the Abu Zubayda interrogation but not his waterboarding, said the CIA decided to waterboard the al Qaeda operative only after he was "wholly uncooperative" for weeks and refused to answer questions.

All that changed -- and Zubayda reportedly had a divine revelation -- after 30 to 35 seconds of waterboarding, Kiriakou said he learned from the CIA agents who performed the technique.

The terror suspect, who is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, reportedly gave up information that indirectly led to the the 2003 raid in Pakistan yielding the arrest of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, an alleged planner of the September 11, 2001, attacks, Kiriakou said.

Let's see, what would make us Better, Morally Superior People? Hmmm....Allowing tens of thousands of innocent people to die horrible deaths at the hands of terrorists so we don't have to endure the 'shame' of 'torturing' bloodthirsty terrorists, or...Savings tens of thousands of innocent lives by making a bloodthirsty terrorist feel 'entirely unpleasant' and 'uncomfortable.'

Gee, I'm gonna have to meditate on that one.

Posted by Tammy · December 11, 2007 10:39 AM · Permalink
Hypocrisy | Political Correctness | Politics | September 11 | War on Radical Islam

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Call me nutty, but I'm all for getting information out of these beasts any damn way we can. And frankly, waterboarding isn't the equivalent of bamboo up the fingernails, so all of these hand-wringing wimps filled with angst and woe can just shut the hell up.

My blood is sufficiently pumping now.

Posted by: Kelly at December 11, 2007 11:14 AM

Should he be telling this stuff to CNN...and the world?? Even Wolf Blitzer asked him about the implications of revealing this information. And I'm also ticked off that the Dems are up in arms about those secret interrogation tapes being destroyed.Would they have preferred having them leaked to the media(i.e Abu Garaihb) and caused the deaths of American troops,as we all as potentially revealing some CIA operative's identity? Gimme a break!

Posted by: storytold at December 11, 2007 05:10 PM

You know what? If they do not want to be water boarded let them do these 3 things

1. stop targeting civilians
2. wear military uniforms
3. meet us on the battlefield

Otherwise they are the scum of the Earth and deserve no considerations at all. Kill them all is what I would like to see happen.

Posted by: Ripper at December 11, 2007 07:04 PM

Actually, RIPPER summed it up very well! It's a theater made up of evil bloodthirsty characters

Posted by: Boomer at December 11, 2007 07:26 PM

You know its just a problem of us not embracing diversity enough. We need to embrace them and try and accept the way they are. SO we give up water boarding and putting panties on them, instead we can just saw off heads and hack off hands while yelling something appropriately diverse and inclusive.

Posted by: Kerrain at December 12, 2007 09:16 AM

I saw this former CIA agent clearing his conscience in front of the cameras. What a disgusting coward. Can he prove he worked for them? Is he really the level of quality they have to rely on these days? It's no wonder we got hit on 9/11.

We can all expect to see him announce a major book deal in the near future and show up in some MoveOn.org ads.

Thank God this pathetic individual is no longer working for the CIA and defending this country.

Posted by: gabrielpicasso at December 12, 2007 10:17 AM

I seem to remember something that everyone griped about back just after 9/11 happened. It was the "what ifs" and the "whys." Why, oh WHY didn't we do more to stop it before it happened?!?

I'll tell you why: because we were too afraid to take this kind of action to root the bastroids out! But if we HAD done something and 9/11 never happened, everyone would've pissed and moaned about how wrong we were and how we didn't have enough evidence.

I love my country!

Posted by: AniMEL at December 13, 2007 07:22 PM

I find it hard to believe that I would ever have cared about waterboarding... BUT..

I was at the funeral of Pvt Tom Tucker - he was born and raised here. He and Spc Christian Menchaca were kidnapped and tortured (no REALLY tortured - the details would make you sick) and beheaded - their bodies were then booby trapped for our troops to find.

I just don't think the 'they will do it to our troops' argument holds up... I'm sure Tom and Kristian would have opted for waterboarding and being held at Guantanamo indefinitely over what happened to them.

Posted by: FlagGazer at December 14, 2007 10:31 AM

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Former Agent: Waterboarding Saves Lives But Should be Banned

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