Former Vice President Dick Cheney has requested the release of two CIA reports which he claims will strengthen his assertions that the torture of detainees helped thwart terrorist plots, but already released memos from the CIA inspector general point out that there was no conclusive proof that the harsh interrogation tactics helped the Bush Administration thwart any “specific imminent attacks.”
As early as July 2002, the Pentagon’s chief lawyer had cautioned against the use of torture, saying that it not only produced “unreliable information,” but might also provide a justification for the torture of captured US personnel.
In particular, Abu Zubaydah had providing much valuable information before the interrogators started mistreating him, and the torture produced “no breakthroughs,” according to officials. Not only that, but watching the detainee suffer itself caused considerable distress to the interrogators.
Interrogators began in 2002, and were initially designed to produce some evidence of a link between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s government as a justification for a war. Though no evidence was ever found, the policy continued long after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The recent release by the Obama Administration of several of the torture memos has provided the American public for the first time a glimpse of the extent of the torture, though President Obama has dismissed calls to hold any interrogators accountable for their actions.
The true purpose of torture is not to obtain useful information, but to terrorize an entire population. For example, the occupied people of Iraq or the members of al Qaida who were standing up to American power. From there, it is a small step to torturing domestic (the empire's "homeland") political dissidents. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: When the people fear their government, there is tyranny, but when the government fears the people, there is liberty. That is another reason why we must punish the torturers. Our own liberty is at stake.