The evidence for the necessity to hold Bush administration officials accountable for the use of torture continues to grow. Light is being shed, not only on the acts of torture, but also on the indiscriminate and wantonly careless manner in which detainees were designated as such "high value" that they should be considered appropriate subjects for torture interrogation techniques.
On Tuesday, June 16th, the Washington Post reported (CIA Mistaken on 'High-Value' Detainee, Document Shows) that CIA documents confirm the Bush administration was mistaken about Guantanamo detainee Abu Zubaydah being a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda.
The Post report confirmed what Brent Mickum, one of Abu Zubaydah's lawyers, told a torture accountability forum on May 30th, that "Abu Zubaydah was never even a member of al-Qaeda much less a high-level member." Nevertheless, Zubaydah, a Palestinian, was held at a secret CIA facility after his capture in Pakistan in March 2002 and was subjected 83 times to waterboarding.
Mickum on his client Abu Zubaydah at torture accountability forum May 30th:
Mickum wrote about these mistakes by the Bush administration in a March 30th article "The Truth About Abu Zubaydah" published in the British newspaper Guardian.
The facts surrounding the handling and treatment of Abu Zubaydah that have so far come to light raise enormous doubts about Dick Cheney's assertions that the techniques he authorized were used sparingly, only on "high-value" suspects and yielded positive results. Closer to the truth is that the use of these torture techniques was reckless, in most cases based on implausible and mistaken information, and may involve a cover-up by the OLC.
To appreciate just how wrong the Bush administration was, it is worth reviewing some of the information Jay S. Bybee used in his August 1, 2002, OLC memo as a basis for justifying the use of waterboarding and nine other techniques on Zubaydah.
Zubaydah, though only 31, rose quickly from very low level mujahedin to third or fourth man in al Qaeda. He has served as Usama Bin Laden's senior lieutenant. In that capacity, he has managed a network of training camps. . . He acted as the Deputy Camp Commander for al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, personally approving entry and graduation of all trainees during 1999-2000.
Zubaydah has been involved in every major terrorist operation carried out by al Qaeda. . . Moreover, he was one of the planners of the September 11 attacks.
This is an extraordinarily damning indictment. I find it incredible how it includes every allegation that would indeed brand a detainee "the worst of the worst," and yet, it is completely erroneous. Is it even plausible? Did Bybee or anyone in the OLC question the reliability of this information? Can a lawyer render a good faith opinion about the use of torture on this man without satisfying himself that these allegations were reasonably grounded in fact?
Until we know the answers to these questions, the motives behind Bybee's memo will remain subject to speculation that it was written to cover-up for torture after the fact. For example, if after waterboarding Zubaydah 83 times the conclusion was reached that he was never a member of al-Qaeda, the CIA may have sought some cover by proclaiming him to be Bin Laden's senior lieutenant in command of training camps, and just for good measure mention he has been involved in every major terrorist operation and was a planner of 9-11. Case closed. Torture justified.
Brent Mickum says it is important to note that Zubaydah has not been charged, and he has not been brought before a military commission. And, as is now well known, the CIA tapes of his interrogations have been destroyed. According to Mickum, references to Abu Zubaydah and references to his alleged evidentiary statements are being systematically removed from government cases. As Mickum said, "Abu Zubaydah is slowly being air brushed out of history."
A full inquiry into the Zubaydah case may get us closer to the truth about our use of torture and may help in bringing us back from the dark side.
Update In a letter to the editor, Washington Post, June 23, 2009, George Little, Spokesman for the CIA, wrote:
The June 16 news story "CIA Mistaken on 'High-Value' Detainee, Document Shows" suggests that Abu Zubaida was an unimportant terrorist figure before his capture in 2002. That is wrong. Mr. Zubaida was a major terrorist facilitator with extensive knowledge of al-Qaeda. During questioning, Mr. Zubaida provided valuable information, including a detailed road map to al-Qaeda operatives that greatly expanded our understanding of the terrorist group and helped take other terrorists off the streets. Had your reporters asked, we would have made those points.
This additional information raises questions about what role torture played in obtaining useful information, and what was known at the time Jay Bybee wrote his OLC memo.
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