McCain: 'Enhanced Interrogation' Did Not Lead to bin Laden's Killing

[Mustang]

It looks like conservatives aren't even in agreement with each other when it comes to taking credit for anything that has to do with how the information was obtained which eventually led to discovering bin Laden's whereabouts.

Waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques were not a factor in tracking down Osama bin Laden, a leading Republican senator insisted Thursday.

In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, the Arizona Republican said former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and others who supported those kind of measures were wrong to claim that waterboarding al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, provided information that led to bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

"Not only did the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not provide us with key leads on bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed, it actually produced false and misleading information," McCain said. He called on Mukasey and others to correct their misstatements.

McCain says torture did not lead to bin Laden - Politics - More politics - msnbc.com

 

[Leweman]

McCain is a conservative?

 

[Wiseacre]

The man was tortured for 6 years in a Hanoi prison. Not surprising he's sort of against it.

 

[Mustang]

The man was tortured for 6 years in a Hanoi prison. Not surprising he's sort of against it.

He's also the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has access to classified information which others don't.

 

[Sallow]

The man was tortured for 6 years in a Hanoi prison. Not surprising he's sort of against it.

He's also the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has access to classified information which others don't.

I find it amazing the sorts of extrapolations that are being made in this regard.

They did have KSM and he did give them a name. The name wasn't even a real name. But here's the kicker..it wasn't done under torture. It gave them the info months after they stopped waterboarding him in a normal interrogation. But the Bush administration had given up the search. The Bush administration disbanded the units searching for Bin Laden. So even THAT intel sat collecting dust. It was only AFTER Obama re-activated the units searching for Bin Laden, that they even were able to connect some dots.

But for supporters none of this means anything.

KSM was tortured...he gave up a name..and Osama Bin Laden was caught. That's the only parts of the story they want to hear.

Because using that same ridiculous logic you can assign credit..or blame...to just about anything. No context needed.

 

[Avorysuds]

I thought McCain was a Progressive liberal, didn't Obama do just about everything McCain ran off of only x10?

 

[Mustang]

The man was tortured for 6 years in a Hanoi prison. Not surprising he's sort of against it.

He's also the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has access to classified information which others don't.

I find it amazing the sorts of extrapolations that are being made in this regard.

They did have KSM and he did give them a name. The name wasn't even a real name. But here's the kicker..it wasn't done under torture. It gave them the info months after they stopped waterboarding him in a normal interrogation. But the Bush administration had given up the search. The Bush administration disbanded the units searching for Bin Laden. So even THAT intel sat collecting dust. It was only AFTER Obama re-activated the units searching for Bin Laden, that they even were able to connect some dots.

But for supporters none of this means anything.

KSM was tortured...he gave up a name..and Osama Bin Laden was caught. That's the only parts of the story they want to hear.

Because using that same ridiculous logic you can assign credit..or blame...to just about anything. No context needed.

For the most part, I don't think most Americans are buying into the conservative mantra (pushed by former Bush administration officials) that Bush deserves significant credit (if any credit at all) for finding and killing OBL. There's just TOO much evidence that Bush turned his back on the search in favor of other priorities.

All this revisionist history by conservatives is little more than talking points to rally the faithful. The rest of America is not fooled.

 

[Trajan]

The man was tortured for 6 years in a Hanoi prison. Not surprising he's sort of against it.

noooo sorry charlie...he was against it before he was for it, one of the many reasons I didn't vote for him, he flipped to agreeing with torture for the election as pandering move, and frankly, hes just a babbling jackass at this point, I have seen him take 3-4 sides on this issue, I trust him, not at all.

 

[Avorysuds]

He's also the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has access to classified information which others don't.

I find it amazing the sorts of extrapolations that are being made in this regard.

They did have KSM and he did give them a name. The name wasn't even a real name. But here's the kicker..it wasn't done under torture. It gave them the info months after they stopped waterboarding him in a normal interrogation. But the Bush administration had given up the search. The Bush administration disbanded the units searching for Bin Laden. So even THAT intel sat collecting dust. It was only AFTER Obama re-activated the units searching for Bin Laden, that they even were able to connect some dots.

But for supporters none of this means anything.

KSM was tortured...he gave up a name..and Osama Bin Laden was caught. That's the only parts of the story they want to hear.

Because using that same ridiculous logic you can assign credit..or blame...to just about anything. No context needed.

For the most part, I don't think most Americans are buying into the conservative mantra (pushed by former Bush administration officials) that Bush deserves significant credit (if any credit at all) for finding and killing OBL. There's just TOO much evidence that Bush turned his back on the search in favor of other priorities.

All this revisionist history by conservatives is little more than talking points to rally the faithful. The rest of America is not fooled.

I believe Obama get's all the credit... I think Obama himself Kun Fu chopped OBL in the face and that's what killed him... I also think it was the addition of 2 wars, the expansion of Afghanistan and not ending the Iraq war and of course tens of thousands of civilians killed in the process that helped Obama achieve in his ninja like, bad ass killing of OBL... Of course the Democrat voter base loving the invasion of other countries, escalation of wars and killing of civilians that made it all possible.

 

[BlindBoo]

McCain is a conservative?

Getting the bus ready?

 

[bodecea]

Don't you know? Waterboarding isn't torture.....BUT IT WORKS!!! That's why all our soldiers/sailors in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam sang like birds to their captors. That's why the Japanese, the North Koreans and the North Viet Namese had NO PROBLEM finding out our codes, our troop dispositions, etc. because waterboarding WORKS.


......and it's not torture.

 

[Jarhead]

The man was tortured for 6 years in a Hanoi prison. Not surprising he's sort of against it.

He's also the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and has access to classified information which others don't.

I find it amazing the sorts of extrapolations that are being made in this regard.

They did have KSM and he did give them a name. The name wasn't even a real name. But here's the kicker..it wasn't done under torture. It gave them the info months after they stopped waterboarding him in a normal interrogation. But the Bush administration had given up the search. The Bush administration disbanded the units searching for Bin Laden. So even THAT intel sat collecting dust. It was only AFTER Obama re-activated the units searching for Bin Laden, that they even were able to connect some dots.

But for supporters none of this means anything.

KSM was tortured...he gave up a name..and Osama Bin Laden was caught. That's the only parts of the story they want to hear.

Because using that same ridiculous logic you can assign credit..or blame...to just about anything. No context needed.

Torture has been used for thousands of years by all cultures to get information from the enemy.
My guess is, if it didnt work, it would have been a practice stopped years ago.

Furthermore....if you felt you were going to die if you dont give up a name or a place....what are the chances that you would hold your ground?

Give me a freaking break.....if one wants information and the information is not being offered easily....you are more likely to get that information using torture than if you dont.
I am not saying we should torture....but to deny that torture has a good chance of working is rediculous.

 

[Leweman]

None of us will know who was tortured for what information. No matter what any of you hear. Just because someone says someone was or wasn't tortured doesn't mean its what happened. We are only told what they want us to know or to believe.

 

[chikenwing]

Who gives a rip the ass is dead,and if you think Obamma wouldn't water board some one if presented with the same situation your an idiot. he might not admit it but he would as sure as the sky is blue.

 

[kiwiman127]

Who gives a rip the ass is dead,and if you think Obamma wouldn't water board some one if presented with the same situation your an idiot. he might not admit it but he would as sure as the sky is blue.

And you want to use THAT as an excuse to waterboard?
Bin Laden was an barbaric animal, so the US should also be a barbaric animal and replicate something bin Laden probably would have done?
That attitude is a win for al Qaeda.

 

[chikenwing]

Who gives a rip the ass is dead,and if you think Obamma wouldn't water board some one if presented with the same situation your an idiot. he might not admit it but he would as sure as the sky is blue.

And you want to use THAT as an excuse to waterboard?
Bin Laden was an barbaric animal, so the US should also be a barbaric animal and replicate something bin Laden probably would have done?
That attitude is a win for al Qaeda.

Ok how so is a win for them?? doing something we us as a traing tool for our own troops?? please this is the real world not captain kangaroo.

 

[Cal]

McCain is a conservative?

Getting the bus ready?

^.. .

Doesn't really matter if McCain is Conservative or not. He was tortured.. He knows it doesn't work.

Wasn't it McCain who gave his abusers the names of the Green Bay Packers roster when asked who was in his unit?..

But anyhow.. At this point, I don't think it really matters who says that torture didn't lead to Bin Laden, the right-wing noise machine has it's mind up to glorify Bush and his cronies no matter what. Even if Republicans call their bluff.. .

 

[kiwiman127]

Who gives a rip the ass is dead,and if you think Obamma wouldn't water board some one if presented with the same situation your an idiot. he might not admit it but he would as sure as the sky is blue.

And you want to use THAT as an excuse to waterboard?
Bin Laden was an barbaric animal, so the US should also be a barbaric animal and replicate something bin Laden probably would have done?
That attitude is a win for al Qaeda.

Ok how so is a win for them?? doing something we us as a traing tool for our own troops?? please this is the real world not captain kangaroo.

The US hung Japanese for waterboarding. It's amazing how much our morals have slid downwards.
How is it a win for al Qaeda? We didn't waterboard until we started dealing with the barbaric ways of al Qaeda. We let the fear of al Qaeda dictate our morals, they got us to do something we once consider below US morality.

 

[yota5]

I really don't care who gets credit for OBL's death. The important thing is that he's dead. Since this happened on Obama's watch I'm for giving him all of the credit. The unfortunate thing is that Obama, is doing the victory lap thing to bolster his position. Now much of the Intel that we've collected is not going to be exploitable. Obama, gets all of the blame for that CF too. If Obama, had kept his big mouth shut we would've had the opportunity to take out a few more of these maggots. Once again Obama, has made himself the poster boy for the worlds worst President/ CinC.

 

[Mustang]

Don't you know? Waterboarding isn't torture.....BUT IT WORKS!!! That's why all our soldiers/sailors in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam sang like birds to their captors. That's why the Japanese, the North Koreans and the North Viet Namese had NO PROBLEM finding out our codes, our troop dispositions, etc. because waterboarding WORKS.


......and it's not torture.

One of the things I found amusing is that Bush said that it was the lawyers who advised/assured him that waterboarding wasn't torture.

Lawyers? Really??