A new debate ignited on whether torture led U.S. to Bin Laden

World Today

There is outrage and criticism from around the world about the U.S. Senate report on the CIA’s harsh interrogation techniques used after the 9/11 attacks. The report has also ignited a debate on whether this controversial program led the U.S. to capture and kill Osama bin Laden . CCTV America’s Jessica Stone reported this story from the White House.

Thirteen years after the 9/11 attacks, no terrorist plot as lethal has succeeded on U.S. soil.

Ever since, the CIA has said that it’s because of its “enhanced interrogation techniques”, which many call torture. It has also said those techniques led to the death of 9/11 mastermind and al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden three years ago.

But the U.S. Senate report released this week, says CIA detainee, Hassan Ghul, gave the U.S. information before being tortured in 2004, leading them to bin Laden.

The CIA said Ammar al Balucchi was the first to reveal critical Bin Laden information a whole year earlier — because of torture.

The White House said it doesn’t matter what information torture may have elicited. The practice cost the nation its ‘moral authority’ and that’s dangerous.

“I’ve been very explicit about how our intelligence gathering needs to conduct itself and explicitly prohibited these kinds of techniques,” U.S. President Obama said.

Around the world, U.S. embassies beefed up security in anticipation of a global and violent backlash, but it never came.

What did come was condemnation. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani decried the torture of Afghans in U.S. custody.

“All accepted norms of human rights in the world and American law have been violated by a number of CIA agents and their contractors,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said.

The former Polish president, who allowed the secret CIA interrogations to take place in Poland, said the U.S. risks losing allied support for future secret operations.

“Because in a new situation every country will be wondering to what extent it can be trusted that some operations, sometimes on the verge of illegality but crucial for security, will be possible to implement,” Former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said.

Reaction from China was also swift as it urged the U.S. to correct its ways.

“We have reviewed the relevant report. China has consistently opposed torture,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

The White House contended it is already rebuilding its moral authority by revealing what it’s done wrong, ending the practice and implementing reforms to make sure it never happens again.


Stephen Vladeck of American University discusses the CIA torture report

CCTV America interviewed Stephen Vladeck, a Law Professor at American University, on the legal angle of the torture report and the international fallout. He’s been nationally recognized for his work on U.S. federal courts in the war on terrorism.