Armed Conflict Intelligence

David Ignatius Reports More on the Role of CIA Interrogations

Robert Chesney
Monday, May 2, 2011, 5:50 PM
David Ignatius, who typically has great sources in the CIA, writes:
The trail that led to bin Laden’s hideout in the town of Abbottabad, about 75 miles north of Islamabad, began between 2002 and 2004 with the CIA’s interrogation of al-Qaeda “high-value targets” at secret CIA sites overseas.  Several detainees mentioned the “nom de guerre,” or nickname, of one of bin Laden’s couriers. Some of the detainees who confirmed the courier’s nickname were subjected to

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David Ignatius, who typically has great sources in the CIA, writes:
The trail that led to bin Laden’s hideout in the town of Abbottabad, about 75 miles north of Islamabad, began between 2002 and 2004 with the CIA’s interrogation of al-Qaeda “high-value targets” at secret CIA sites overseas.  Several detainees mentioned the “nom de guerre,” or nickname, of one of bin Laden’s couriers. Some of the detainees who confirmed the courier’s nickname were subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques,” the CIA’s formal name for what is now widely viewed as torture. This adds a moral ambiguity to a story that is otherwise one of triumphal retribution and justice.

Robert (Bobby) Chesney is the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, where he also holds the James A. Baker III Chair in the Rule of Law and World Affairs at UT. He is known internationally for his scholarship relating both to cybersecurity and national security. He is a co-founder of Lawfare, the nation’s leading online source for analysis of national security legal issues, and he co-hosts the popular show The National Security Law Podcast.

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