Interrogator Speaks: I'm Still Tortured By What I Saw In Iraq

I should have felt triumphant when I returned from Iraq in August 2006. Instead, I was worried and exhausted. My team of interrogators had successfully hunted down one of the most notorious mass murderers of our generation, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the mastermind of the campaign of suicide bombings that had helped plunge Iraq into civil war. But instead of celebrating our success, my mind was consumed with the unfinished business of our mission: fixing the deeply flawed, ineffective and un-American way the U.S. military conducts interrogations in Iraq. I'm still alarmed about that today.

I'm not some ivory-tower type; I served for 14 years in the U.S. Air Force, began my career as a Special Operations pilot flying helicopters, saw combat in Bosnia and Kosovo, became an Air Force counterintelligence agent, then volunteered to go to Iraq to work as a senior interrogator. What I saw in Iraq still rattles me -- both because it betrays our traditions and because it just doesn't work.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[PSM42]

Wrong on the first. Yes, officially, which is not reality. And probably wrong on the second hereafter because of Iraq. You missed the history of V i e t nam, C hi le, Arg en tina, the Southern C o n e, Operation C o n d or , El Sal vad or, ad infinitum.

[PSM42]

Wrong on the first. Yes, officially, which is not reality. And probably wrong on the second hereafter because of Iraq. You missed the history of Vietnam, Chile, Argentina, the Southern C o n e, Operation C o n d or , El Salvador, ad infinitum.

[PSM42]

Wrong on the first. Yes, officially, which is not reality. And probably wrong on the second hereafter because of Iraq. You missed the history of Vietnam, Chile, Argentina, the Southern Cone, Operation Condor, El Salvador, ad infinitum.

[Palemoon]

First, I applaud the soldier for speaking out, and speaking of his experiences. Still, he's blinded too much by his own government's propaganda. I have some problems with the article.

First problem, and my biggest. The constant use of the phrase "Al Qaida In Iraq". Al Qaida was, and has never been, in Iraq according to all of my military intelligence sources.

Yes, Zarqawi, after making a name for himself, declared himself loyal to Osama bin Laden and proclaimed his alliance with Al Qaida. Now, both Zarqawi and his group are dead. And have been for a long time. So stop using the BS "Al Qaida In Iraq" propaganda please!!

Zarqawi was a Jordanian criminal. He ended up in Iraq because he had a bounty on his head in Jordan. He lived in the border region, out of the reach of both King Abdullah II and Saddam Hussein, whom he both hated. He was nothing more than just a 2-bit outlaw looking for his next opportunity. And Bush gave it to him, to further Bush's agenda, not Zarqawi's.

Also, this other phrase "foreign fighters". Yes, there are some. But most are from Yemen, Saudi and the UAE.

Also, who determines whether they are "foreign fighters"? Can this same person walk through Los Angeles and say "They are from Washington, they are from Arizona, that guy is from Seattle, that girl is from Maine".

If you believe that, I got swampland in Iraq to sell you.

[nirek]

Our history is that we do NOT torture , and we don't expect our enemy to torture our people !!!!

[PSM42]

Wrong on the first. Yes, officially, which is not reality. And probably wrong on the second hereafter because of Iraq. You missed the history of V i e t nam, C hi le, Arg en tina, the Southern C o n e, Operation C o n d or , Gua tam ala, Hon dur as, El Sal vad or, ad infinitum.

[gbrooks]

Please Digg the article if you are so inclined: http://digg.com/politics/I_m_Still_Tortured_by_What_I_Saw_in_Iraq#

Best quote:

"I thought you would torture me, and when you didn't, I decided that everything I was told about Americans was wrong. That's why I decided to cooperate."

[helonias]

Love thine enemy

Jesus

[vigilantwarrior]

"Hearts and Minds", right? Fascism is as fascism does.

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/confess/

[aturner18]

Only one problem Liberalism is more akin to fascism than any true conservative idea.

[PSM42]

Not a part of the fast exploding ranks of the reality-based community.

[vinny]

"Zarqawi's forces (members of Iraq's Sunni minority) blew up the golden-domed Askariya mosque in Samarra"

no way to verify this, is there?

[xxnounxx]

TO MY KNOWLEDGE THE AMERICANS DID IT TO PROVOKE SECTARIAN WAR AND INSTABILITY.

[richardwb]

Exactly.
I've suggested this twice on this thread, and have been censored twice.
Best wishes to you, xxnounxx.
World Peace.

[Waitaminute]

This is not hard to understand. The fact is, they don't care. This campaign, invasion was to put fear into the hearts of the Iragi people. Hoping that way, they could control them. What do you expect from a bunch of draft dodging chickenhawk oilmen?

I've known and they knew the reason for the geneva convention, was to protect both sides from torture. The things this administration did is self evident. They didn't care what happened to our troops or the iragis.

[Collielady]

The sad truth is that the abuses undermine our accomplishments. Why can't the "experts" see that? If this country is attacked again, will it be revenge for our abuses?

It's time for adults to take charge of things. In the meantime, the author had better watch his back.

[JustinKase]

Administration insiders, people on the ground, have published dozens of exposes about this administration. And still they sit smugly safe, grinning at us. It makes me mad. When will we do something to hold them accountable?

[chaos4700]

Honestly? By the sound if it, I don't think that we (the United States) ever well. To be blunt, the Democrats show absolutely no spine when it comes to making sure these sort of crimes are never committed in our name again. Obama is pretty eager for "bipartisanship," whatever he thinks that'll mean, so it doesn't seem like he's averse to sitting down to tea with the proverbial Mussolini.

If any sort of confrontation on legal grounds happens, it have to happen internationally, I think. It's not that the US can't right itself and restore justice and the rule of law... but I don't really see enough of my fellow Americans really fighting for it.

[QueenOfViolets]

I heard a panel discussion on torture a long time ago -- pre-911 -- where some experts said that torture causes as much PTSD to the torturer as it does to the victim.

The torturer can block it out and numb himself and make himself used to doing those foul deeds, but years later, that walls break down, the numbing goes away.

Supposedly this has happened to some Serbian war criminals. Eventually they broke down and suffered remorse. Most people cannot wall themselves off from their own guilt forever. Maybe sociopaths can do that, but normal people who end up doing these things seem to suffer from them later.

It was nice to hear from the experts that it's normal to have a moral conscience and most people can only outrun their conscience for a limited time.

That is indeed a comforting thought in this troubled world.

[bastalready]

This is absolutely true. One incident alone can be cause for a lifetime of ptsd.Torture is always an immoral and ineffective solution on so many levels.

[EminentGrise]

This is just the kind of guy who will fit in well with the "ONE". Hopefully he'll be brave enough to come forward and offer his services to the PE. Osama will be in trouble for sure.

[Brooklyn49]

I believe this guy. And so I sit here, outraged (yet again), numb, and feeling guilty. And how empty is that response? Do I write to Chuck Schumer and say "something has to be done to atone/apologize/rehumanize"? Do I hope Matthews/Olbermann/Maddow pick this up and demand action? To just do nothing is so complicit.