A new scientific study supports what I've been reporting since 2007. The effect of waterboarding and other torture techniques used on "high value" detainees during the Bush Administration led to the brain damage of witnesses and destruction of evidence. Those selected for the most damaging treatment had personal knowledge of CIA involvement with al-Qaeda prior to the 9/11 attacks.
Report: CIA interrogations informed by bad science
By PAMELA HESS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The CIA's harsh interrogations are likely to have damaged the brains of terrorist suspects, diminishing their ability to recall and provide the detailed information the spy agency sought, according to a new scientific paper.
The paper scrutinizes the techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration through the lens of neurobiology and determines the methods to be counterproductive, no matter how much the suspects might have eventually talked.
MORE
CONTINUED
"Solid scientific evidence on how repeated and extreme stress and pain affect memory and executive functions (such as planning or forming intentions) suggests these techniques are unlikely to do anything other than the opposite of that intended by coercive or enhanced interrogation," according to the paper published Monday in the scientific journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences."
The paper authored by Shane O'Mara, a professor at Ireland's Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, states that the torture techniques appear to have not been based in scientific understanding of memory and cognitive function, if indeed the purpose was to obtain accurate information. The paper comes after other recent disclosures about "unauthorized" techniques used during CIA interrogations, including "repeated pressure on a detainee's carotid artery until he began to pass out." http://www.nybooks.com/... In human anatomy, the common carotid artery is an artery that supplies the brain with oxygenated blood.
O'Mara told The Associated Press on Monday he reviewed the scientific literature about the effect of stress on memory and brain function after reading descriptions of the CIA's Bush-era interrogation methods. The methods were detailed in previously classified legal memos released in April.
"The assumption is that the (methods) are without effect on memory, or indeed facilitate the retrieval of information from memory," O'Mara said.
But overwhelmingly, scientific literature shows the opposite: Chronic stress and trauma - the likely result of the CIA's methods, particularly for long-term prisoners, according to O'Mara - can damage the hippocampus, the part of the brain that integrates memory.
more...
http://www.commondreams.org/...
This is exactly what I've been saying since Day One - waterboarding and torture scrambled memories, tainted confessions, and interfered with potential investigations of events leading up to 9/11; those outcomes were entirely known and anticipated. The effect was most likely also the purpose. See:
leveymg's Journal - Why did Bush-Cheney and the CIA Destroy the ...4 posts - Last post: May 20
Posted by leveymg in General Discussion ... The CIA dramatically altered the protocol for waterboarding by March 2003. ...
http://journals.democraticundergroun... - Cached - Similar
WHO GOT WATERBOARDED AND WHY ...
CIA terror suspects 'kept awake for 11 days' -
CIA Used Banned Cold War "Brainwashing ... - Dec 18, 2007
More results from democraticunderground.com »
http://www.democraticunderground.com...
leveymg on HuffingtonPostWaterboarding Not Discussed At CIA Briefings, Congressional Aide Says ... See, http://journals.democraticundergroun... "Who Got Waterboarded, ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/leveymg?action... - Cached - Similar
Consortiumblog: CIA Videos Predated Bush MemoApr 11, 2009 ... leveymg's Journal - THE CIA OFFICER WHO OVERSAW TORTURE: Cofer ... Abu Zubaydah is said to have been driven mad by waterboarding and sensory ...
consortiumblog.blogspot.com/.../cia-videos-predated-bush-memo.html - Cached - Similar
Daily Kos: CIA Used Banned Cold War "Brainwashing" Techniques on ...This outcome was not unforeseeable when the White House authorized waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation." leveymg's diary :: :: CIA Psychologists ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com... - Cached - Similar
The Seminal » The Faces of Torturers: Cofer Black and Jose RodriguezAug 26, 2009 ... Here is an excerpt from a piece by leveymg re:waterboarding of Abu Zubaydeh: Why did Bush-Cheney and the CIA Destroy the Minds of 9/11 ...
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/... - Cached - Similar
TPMmuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Today's Must ReadDec 18, 2007 ... A CIA agent says that Zubaydah was a "wily adversary" under questioning who ... In addition to waterboarding, Zubaydah was subjected to sleep deprivation and ... I have to agree with leveymg's hypothesis in this case. ...
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem... - Cached - Similar
Daily Kos: Reuters: Disappeared CIA Ghost Detainee Reported "Suicide"May 11, 2009 ... Bin al Shibh is reported to also have had a brief acquaintance with the waterboard. So, who was in charge of the CIA unit that carried out ...
http://www.dailykos.com/... - Cached - Similar
Mark