Exhausted and confused about Bush scandal #345, the CIA Tapes, and why they are so important? In a recent Village Voice, Nat Hentoff makes it all clear here. Hentoff puts a face on the abstraction, discussing the case of Abu Zubaydah, delineating the nature of his torture: "Zubaydah--held in an ice-cold cell--was denied medication for his wounds, threatened with death, prevented from sleeping, incessantly blasted with pounding rock music (by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others), and, at last, waterboarded. After 30 seconds of feeling that he was on the verge of drowning, he was more than eager to answer any questions."
But he had vital information that could save lives, right? Hentoff: "Dan Coleman--the FBI's leading expert on Al Qaeda--asserted that Zubaydah was 'insane, certifiable, split personality,' and that he wasn't the top operative he was made out to be."
It is, of course, likely that Zubahdah gave false testimony. His tortured confessions have played a role in the case against US citizen Jose Padilla, recently convicted of "terrorism charges" and hyped way back when as planning a "dirty bomb."
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