Fox News article claims that Bush-Era 'interrogations' provided key information for Osama's captured

See Article Here


I would not trust the assertion. It seems too good to be true that these 'enhanced interrogations' provided this specific information. In my opinion, they are asserting this in order to make the public think their 'interrogations' were all actually justified. It also seems a bit over the top to think information from years ago gave specific information on where Osama bin Laden was because a trail tends to go cold within two days in these networks. I am saying this having studied the use of torture in order to breakup militant nationalist organizations in Algeria during their Revolution. These networks tend to want their members to hold out two days so all their information can be made useless. Even if these 'interrogations' brought about this information, that just shows that we tortured many people for years and only just found the right person to torture. I explained in "The Rise of Islamophobia" the details of these 'interrogations' by referencing a historian's analysis of Pentagon papers. The following is an excerpt from that essay:

The prime example of the actualization is the use of torture. In official Pentagon reports “suggest that kidnappings, unlawful interrogations, and sometimes summary executions of prisoners are becoming routine practices by our security forces, in and out of uniform” (Ray vii). Beyond just harsh living conditions like being “chained to the floor for days on end,” these Muslim prisoners “are manipulated, humiliated, sexually taunted and shamed, and their religion defiled” (Ray viii). A Pentagon investigation calls what the security forces subjected their prisoners to as “‘sadistic, blatant, and wanton’ abuses, including attacks by dogs , rape, sodomy, and, sometimes, death” (Ray viii).  

I am going to wait until more information is made available and we get some expert opinions by historians of the contemporary conflicts in the Middle-East before accepting what the news claims about 'what this proves'.


Work cited:
Ray, Ellen. “Introduction.” Alleg, Henri. The Question. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2006. Print.