ABD Merkezi İstihbarat Teşkilatı (CIA) Direktörü Gina Haspel, Donald Trump’ın başkanlığının son gününde görevinden ayrıldığını duyurdu.
CIA’nın resmi Twitter hesabından yapılan paylaşımda, Haspel’e Amerikan halkına 36 yıllık hizmetinden dolayı teşekkür edilerek, “Engelleri aştınız ve yeni nesil CIA görevlilerini güçlendirdiniz.” ifadeleri kullanıldı.
Paylaşıma eklenen açıklamasında da Haspel, teşkilattan gururlu bir şekilde ayrıldığını belirterek, birlikte başarılı işler gerçekleştirdiklerini, tehditlerin üstesinden geldiklerini ve geleceğe yatırım yaptıklarını kaydetti.
Haspel, ayrılması hakkında belli bir neden göstermezken, 16 Ocak’ta Axios haber portalı, Haspel’in aralık ayı başında Trump’ın kendine bağlı Kash Patel’i teşkilata ikinci adam olarak atamasına karşı çıkarak istifa ile tehdit ettiğini yazmıştı.
ABD'de başkan seçilen Joe Biden, 11 Ocak'ta yaptığı açıklamada, 21 Mayıs 2018’den bu yana CIA Direktörlüğü görevini yürüten Haspel'in yerine teşkilatın başına 64 yaşındaki eski Rusya Büyükelçisi William J. Burns'ü aday gösterdiğini duyurmuştu.
GİNA HASPEL OLARAK BİLİNEN KANLI GİNA KİMDİR TANIYALIM (ARŞİVİMİZDEN)
Gina Cheri Walker Haspel'in (1956 1 Ekim doğumlu) Gina Cheri Walker, 1 Ekim 1956'da Kentucky, Ashland'da beş kardeşin en büyüğü olarak doğdu. Babası ABD Hava Kuvvetleri'nde görev yaptı Haspel, Birleşik Krallık'ta (İngiltere) liseye gitti. West Point'teki ABD Askeri Akademisi'ne katılmak istemişti, ancak o sırada kadın başvuruları kabul etmiyordu. Bunun yerine Haspel, 1978'de Louisville Üniversitesi'nden gazetecilik ve dil alanında lisans derecesi aldı. ABD Ordusu'nda görev yapan Jeff Haspel ile kısa bir süre evli kaldı.
GİNA HASPEL'İN KARİYER ZAMAN ÇİZELGESİ (TIKLAYIN)
Gina Haspel mezun olduktan sonra 10. Özel Kuvvetler Grubu nda Ft. Devens, kütüphanesi ve yabancı dil laboratuvarını işletmek için müteahhit olarak Massachusetts'te görev yapan Michael Vickers adlı bir Ordu subayı ile tanışıyor Vickers Haspel'i CIA'ya katılmaya teşvik ediyor. Vickers daha sonra CIA için çalışacak ve daha sonra Barack Obama yönetiminde istihbarat için savunma müsteşarı olarak görev yapacaktır.
Haspel, Ocak 1985 yılında CIA'ya yerel rapotör olarak katıldı ve Sovyetler Birliği'nde uzmanlaşmış bir rapor memuru olarak çalıştı. 1988'de Etiyopya Addis Ababa'da “vekil yönetim başkanı” olarak listelendi. Resmi CIA biyografisine göre, Afrika'da "ajanları işe almayı ve idare etmeyi öğrendi." Daha sonra Orta Avrupa, Türkiye ve Orta Asya'ya gönderildi.
Birçoğu istasyon şefi olduğu birkaç denizaşırı gizli görevde bulundu . İlk saha görevi 1987-1989 yılları arasında Etiyopya, Orta Avrasya, Türkiye'de olmuş, ardından 1990-2001 yılları arasında Avrupa ve Orta Avrasya'da çeşitli görevlerde bulunmuştur. Haspel, 1996-1998 yılları arasında Bakü, Azerbaycan'da istasyon şefi olarak görev yapmıştır. 2001'den 2003'e kadar Terörle Mücadele Merkezi Grup Başkan Yardımcısı olarak görev yaptı. Ekim ve Aralık 2002 arasında Cumhuriyetçi Başkan George W. Bush yönetiminde kurulan 'Kedi Gözü' adlı bir gizli hapishane ve ek yerleşkelerinden sorumlu idi (Haspel, El Kaide'ye karıştığından şüphelenilen kişileri barındıran, kod adlı Cat's Eye adlı Tayland Gözaltı Yeri GREEN'deki gizli bir CIA hapishanelerini denetlemekle görevlendirildi) .(Gina Haspel - https://tr.qaz.wiki/wiki/Gina_Haspel)
Üç yıl sonra Haspel, CIA'nın erkeklerin sorgulamalarını kaydeden yaklaşık 100 video kasetini imha etmesine karıştı ve sonuçta ilgili kişilere karşı suçlamada bulunmamaya karar veren özel bir savcının soruşturmasını iptal etti.
Gina Haspel, gizliliği kaldırılan CIA kablolarına göre 2002 yılında Tayland'daki bir CIA kara sahasında üssün şefi olduğu sırada şüpheli bir El Kaide teröristin gözetiminde su tahliyesi de dahil olmak üzere kasıtlı fiziksel işkence eylemlerini anlattı - çoğu Yazdığı veya yetkilendirdiği - Bilgi Edinme Özgürlüğü Yasası davasıyla Ulusal Güvenlik Arşivi tarafından elde edilmiş ve Web'de yayınlanmıştır.
Haspel kabloları, halkın yalnızca Irak'ta kukuletalı ve kelepçeli tutukluların, zorla çıplaklık, duvar çarpma ve kutu hapsetme gibi kötü şöhretli Abu Ghraib fotoğraflarında ve şüphelilerin simüle edilmiş boğulmaları gibi hiç fotoğraflanmayan "gelişmiş teknikler" su tahtasında. Waterboarding, hem ABD hem de uluslararası hukuka göre bir savaş suçudur ve İkinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında ABD savaş esirlerine işkence yaptıkları için ABD'nin Japon askerleri yargılamasına kadar uzanmaktadır.
CIA, Haspel'in adını ve su tahtasını yöneten CIA sözleşmeli psikologları James Mitchell ve Bruce Jessen'in ismini çıkarmış olsa da, gizliliği kaldırılmış diğer belgeler (2004 CIA Müfettiş Genel raporu dahil) ve kamuoyuna yapılan açıklamalar, sözde terörist Abd al Rahim'e yönelik işkencenin liderliğini doğrulamaktadır.
CIA’nin Direktörü Gina Haspel 2018 Ağustos ayında CIA’in kurum olarak önceliklerini sıralarken CIA’in istihbarat boşluklarını kapatmak ve Rusya ya da Çin gibi büyük güçlerden gelen tehditle mücadele etmek amacıyla dünya üzerindeki varlığını genişleteceğini belirten Haspel, Çince, Arapça, Türkçe ve Farsça dillerini konuşan daha fazla kişi işe alacaklarını söylemişti.
CIA Direktörü Haspel, Louisville Üniversitesi’nde yaptığı konuşmada, 11 Eylül saldırılarından sonra görevi terörle mücadele alanına kayan kurumun casusluk misyonuna yeniden ağırlık vereceğine dair vizyonunu açıkladı, ulus devletlere yönelik geleneksel casusluk faaliyetlerini stratejik bir öncelik olarak niteledi. Amerika’nın şu anki ve gelecekteki olası rakiplerine ilişkin daha iyi istihbarat toplanması ihtiyacının CIA’in önündeki en büyük zorluklardan biri olduğunu ifade etti.
Haspel, CIA’in yurtdışı istasyonlarındaki görevlilerin sayısını arttırma niyetini dile getirdi, “Dışarda daha büyük bir ayak izinizin olması güçlü bir duruşu mümkün kılıyor” diye konuştu. CIA Direktörü bu bağlamda Çince, Arapça, Farsça, Türkçe, Fransızca ve İspanyolca dilleri dahil yabancı dillere hakim kişileri işe almayı umduğunu belirtti.
CIA Direktörü Haspel özellikle Çin ile ilgili kaygılarını dile getirdi, Çin’in kendi hedeflerine ulaşmak amacıyla Amerika’nın nüfuzunu azaltmaya çalıştığını savundu. Haspel, “Afrika, Latin Amerika, Pasifik adaları, Güney Asya gibi kendi bölgelerinin de ötesinde nüfuz alanlarını genişletme çabalarını çok yakından takip ediyoruz” dedi.
CIA Direktörü, “Yoksul ülkelere yatırım sunma, belki de bu ülkelerin hiç geri ödeyemeyeceği krediler verme gibi kullandıkları taktiklerden endişeliyiz” dedi. Haspel, “Bu ülkelerden kendi egemenliklerinin bilincinde olmaları, altyapılarına ve ulusal güvenliklerine yönelik yabancı yatırımın nihai olarak onları egemenliklerinden tavize götürebileceği konusunda bilinçli olmalarını istiyoruz” ifadelerini kullandı.
Gina Haspel, İran’a da değindi. Tahran’ın içinde bulunduğu ekonomik sıkıntılara rağmen, Suriye lideri Beşar Esat’ı güçlendirmek, Bağdat’taki nüfuzunu arttırmak ve Yemen’de de Husileri desteklemek adına para harcamaya devam ettiğini vurguladı. “İran’ın bölgedeki olumsuz faaliyetlerini çok yakından izliyoruz. Ülkeler kendi rotasını çizebilsin diye bu faaliyetlere karşı gelmek istiyoruz” dedi.
Haspel 2001 yılında teşkilatın terörle mücadele grubuna transfer talebinde bulundu ve işteki ilk günü 11 Eylül'e denk geldi, zamanı ve kurgusu bakımından bir çok komplo teorisi üretilen11 Eylül saldırılarından sonra pek çok kişi, El Kaide üyesi olduğu gerekçesiyle Mısır, Pakistan, Özbekistan, Ürdün, Fas, Tayland ve başka pek çok ülkeye götürülürken yolda işkencelerden geçirildi.
Bu işkence seyahatlerindeki son duraklardan biri Hint Okyanusu'ndaki Diego Garcia Adası'ydı. Buraya kaç kişinin götürüldüğü ve işkence merkezlerinde öldürüldüğü bilinmiyor. Haspel'in Tayland hapishanelerinde 'gelişmiş sorgu teknikleri'ni uyguladığı da belgeli olarak kısmen bilinmekte...
Waterboarding İşkence Yöntemi
Waterboarding yönteminde kişi sırtüstü yatırılarak ağzı bezle kapatılıyor ve yüzüne su dökülerek akciğerlerinin suyla dolduğu hissi oluşturuluyor. Sorgunun kayıtları daha sonra yok edildi ancak Amerikan New York Times gazetesinin iddiasına göre belgelerde emirleri veren kişi olarak Haspel'in adı geçti.
Haspel'in Tayland'ta yönettiği bir gizli işkence hapishanesinde terör şüphelilerine su işkencesi yapıldığını gösteren video görüntülerinin imha edildiği de açığa çıkmıştı.
İngiliz Telegraph Gazetesi'nin haberine göre GinaHaspel, 2002'de terör şüphelisi olarak alınan Ebu Zübeyde ve Abdal Rahim al-Nashiri'nin su işkencesi gördüğü 'siyah alan' biriminden sorumluydu.
Gizliliği kaldırılan CIA belgelerinde de El Kaide şüphelisi Ebu Zübeyde'nin bir ay içinde 84 kez 'waterboarding' (suda boğulma hissi verme) yöntemiyle sorgulandığı açıklanmıştı. Haspel işte bu olayın da baş sorumlusu olarak görülüyor. Kısmi olarak açıklanan işkence belgelerinden sonra, Almanya merkezli Avrupa Anayasa ve İnsan Hakları Merkezi örgütü'nün Alman savcıları Haspel hakkında tutuklama kararı çıkarılmasını talep ettiler. Haspel görevi kötüye kullandığı iddiasını reddederek kayıtların verilen emirler doğrultusunda yok edildiğini söyledi.
ABD yönetimi inkar etse de CIA yönetimindeki çok uluslu işkence, esir ticareti, gizli cezaevi ve işkence uçuşları, Uluslararası Af Örgütü``nün ve ardından Avrupa Konseyi``nin 67 sayfalık raporu ile belgelendi. CIA uçaklarının yüzlerce uçuşu, kullandığı havaalanları, ortaklık yapılan ülkeler, kullanılan uçakların özellikleri, bu amaçla kurulan veya kullanılan paravan şirketlerin listesini içeren raporlar yayımlandı. Norveç gibi İnsan hakları söylemini en üst frekanta savunan birçok ülke, CIA`in hava sahasını kullanmasını ya da kendi topraklarında gizli cezaevi kurmasını gizlemeye çalıştı.
109 Emekli Askeri Lider, CIA Direktör Adayı İken Gina Haspel Hakkında Endişelerini Dile Getirmişti
ABD Senatosu üyelerine yazdıkları bir mektupta , 109 emekli general ve amiral, eski ABD işkence programıyla bağlantıları nedeniyle Gina Haspel'in CIA yöneticisi olarak adlandırılmasından "derinden rahatsız" olduklarını söylediler.
109 Emekli Askeri Liderin ABD Senatosu Üyelerine Yazdıkları Mektup ( TIKLAYIN )
İşte 2011 Yılı İŞKENCE Notu:
İNGİLİZCE ÖZET VE BELGELER
RESEARCH DOCUMENT : Gina Haspel CIA Torture Cables Declassified
Gina Haspel CIA Torture Cables Declassified
Published: Aug 10, 2018
Briefing Book #636
Edited by Tom Blanton
For more information, contact:
202-994-7000 or nsarchiv
National Security Archive Wins FOIA Lawsuit for Thailand Black Site Reports
Haspel described extended sessions of physical violence and waterboarding; CIA cables detail contract psychologists Mitchell and Jessen working for Haspel
Washington D.C., August 10, 2018 – Current CIA director Gina Haspel described graphic acts of deliberate physical torture including the waterboarding of a suspected Al-Qa’ida terrorist under her supervision when she was chief of base at a CIA black site in Thailand in 2002, according to declassified CIA cables – most of which she wrote or authorized – obtained by the National Security Archive through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit and posted on the Web today.
The Haspel cables detail conditions the public has only seen in the infamous Abu Ghraib photographs from Iraq of detainees hooded and shackled, forced nudity, wall slamming, and box confinement, as well as “enhanced techniques” never photographed such as the simulated drowning of suspects on the waterboard. Waterboarding is a war crime under both U.S. and international law, dating back to U.S. prosecution of Japanese solders for torturing U.S. POWs during World War II.
Although the CIA redacted Haspel’s name and those of the CIA contract psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen who administered the waterboard, other declassified documents (including the 2004 CIA Inspector General report) and public statements confirm their leadership of the torture of alleged terrorist Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri at the black site between November 15 and December 4, 2002.
“Release of Gina Haspel’s torture cables shows the power of the Freedom of Information Act to bring accountability even to the highest levels of the CIA,” said Archive director Tom Blanton, who first identified the Haspel cables from a footnote (336 on p. 67) in the Senate Intelligence Committee torture report declassified in 2014.
The Archive filed its FOIA request for the Haspel cables on April 16, 2018, after she was nominated by President Trump to be CIA director. Despite the clear public interest in the documents, the CIA denied the Archive’s request for expedited processing, and the Archive went to court on April 27. The U.S. Senate confirmed Haspel as CIA director on May 17 (by a vote of 54-45) on the basis of a record amassed almost exclusively in closed hearings, with no declassification or public release of information even remotely approaching that of previous CIA nominees.
David Sobel, FOIA expert and former Archive counsel, drafted and filed the initial Archive complaint in federal court; and the Archive’s pro bono counsel Peter Karanjia and Lisa Zycherman of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine took on the task of negotiating with the U.S. Attorney’s office over release of the documents.
In addition to the work of Sobel, Karanjia and Zycherman, Blanton credited two other lawsuits with paving the way for release of the Haspel cables. The civil lawsuit Salim v. Mitchell brought by the ACLU against the CIA contract psychologists who were the architects of the torture program forced the CIA to search and review as many as 24,000 documents from the massive database used by the Senate Intelligence Committee staff in the writing of their report. The FOIA lawsuit by freelance journalist Daniel DeFraia then compelled release of key documents, including five Haspel cables included in this posting, even after the August 2017 settlement in the Salim v. Mitchell case.
The released Haspel cables feature extensive redactions by the CIA, including their dates (although those can be ascertained from the declassified CIA Inspector General’s report, among other sources) and most of the information results from the torture (although those have been summarized by the Senate Intelligence Committee report and two of the Haspel cables even admit failure to produce actionable intelligence).
The biggest mystery in the released cables is whether Gina Haspel wrote Cable 11359, from December 1, 2002, which uses remarkably vivid language to describe the torture sessions: The interrogators “strode, catlike, into the well-lit confines of the cell at 0902 hrs [redacted], deftly removed the subject’s black hood with a swipe, paused, and in a deep, measured voice said that subject – having ‘calmed down’ after his (staged) run-in with his hulking, heavily muscled guards the previous day – should reveal what subject had done to vex his guards to the point of rage.”
READ THE DOCUMENTS
2002-11-11
This document authorized Gina Haspel, as chief of base at a CIA black site in Thailand, to torture the suspected terrorist al-Nashiri, who was in the process of rendition to that site. Although Haspel’s name (or cover name) along with the cable date and time, cable number, and more are all redacted by CIA, other published sources fill in many of the gaps. "Senior government officials" quoted by ProPublica and The New York Timesestablished that Haspel arrived at the black site as chief of base in "late October 2002."[3] Open source flight records published by The Rendition Project show rendition flights for Nashiri from Dubai (where he had been arrested in October) to Afghanistan (the site known as COBALT, or the "Salt Pit") on November 10-11, 2002, and then on to Thailand (the site known as GREEN) in the November 13-16 time period.[4] The declassified CIA Inspector General report on torture established that al-Nashiri arrived at the Thailand black site on November 15, 2002, and "immediately upon his arrival" began being tortured.[5] The declassified deposition given by Jose Rodriguez (who was Haspel’s boss at the time as head of CIA’s Counterterrorism Center) in the Salim v. Mitchell case brought by the ACLU described CIA contract psychologist James Mitchell as the "HVTI psychologist" whose name is redacted here, who accompanied Nashiri on his rendition flight and performed the first assessment of him, as described in this document. [6] Key to the torture order was the "HQS [headquarters] assessment that… Nashiri… has access to perishable threat information that he will not willingly share…." Ultimately, after two months of torture, first in Thailand and then in Poland (the site known as BLUE), CIA interrogators concluded this was not the case. This document provides support to the Senate Intelligence Committee torture report conclusion that the useful intelligence from the CIA detainees came before any torture took place, from regular interrogation: Here the cable admits "we have so far uncovered Nashiri’s plots to sink ships in the straits of Hormuz" – which Nashiri had admitted while in Dubai. This order helps explain how Mitchell kept selling his torture services to a credulous CIA – despite the Dubai evidence, Mitchell self-servingly tells headquarters that Nashiri is a "sophisticated resister" who would require Mitchell’s torture techniques to give up useful information, and further was "no more at risk for severe or prolonged mental harm" from torture than "any other captive."
2002-11-15
This cable is the first one of 12 listed in footnotes 336 and 337 on page 67 of the Senate Intelligence Committee torture report, declassified in 2014, as documenting Nashiri’s detention and interrogation. The declassified CIA Inspector General report on torture set the likely date for this document as November 15, 2002, since that was Day One of Nashiri’s detention at the Thailand black site commanded by Gina Haspel, and "aggressive" interrogation had started "immediately" on his arrival. As chief of base, Haspel was responsible for all communications with headquarters, including this cable back to CIA’s ALEC Station describing the interrogation of Nashiri. CIA contract psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen led the torture session starting at 0415 hours by placing Nashiri against "the walling board," and telling him "they wanted to know who, what, when where and how ongoing operations would take place, and would stop at nothing to get it." When Nashiri began to describe the earlier Hormuz plots instead of current threat information he did not have, Mitchell and Jessen threw him to the floor and the "security team" ripped off his clothes, shaved his head "while subject moaned and wailed," and locked him in the confinement box at 0445 hours. According to former CIA lawyer John Rizzo, a prisoner could stand in this "large" box roughly the size of a coffin, while the "small" box reserved for shorter stays was only big enough to "curl up" in. The cable below established that Nashiri stayed in the confinement box for over 12 hours, until 1703.
2002-11-15
Although the date and time on this cable are redacted, internal evidence such as the cable number and timing of interrogation sessions points to the Day One date of November 15. The cable reported the "base officers" "planning session" presided over by Gina Haspel, and the focus on "imminent Al-Qa’ida plots against U.S." Details included removing Nashiri from the "large box" at 1703 hours (he had been locked in at 0445, more than 12 hours earlier), adjusting his shackles, and removing his hood. Interrogators "walled" Nashiri (slamming him against the "walling" panel) when he started describing what they called "failed operations and old information," and then confined him in the "small" box for 30 minutes. When allowed to talk, Nashiri provided extensive detail of plans and names involved in the Hormuz and Dubai operations he had previously admitted to in his Dubai interrogations. Haspel’s report to headquarters commented that Nashiri’s admissions "were disjointed and appeared to conflict in certain places, but contained some information that may be actionable."
2002-11-17
Although the CIA censored the date of this cable, the cable number and internal evidence point to the second day (November 16) of Nashiri’s torture at the black site commanded by Gina Haspel. As base commander, Haspel was responsible for this cable reporting on three separate interrogation sessions, featuring hooded confinement in the "large" box, multiple applications of "the walling technique," one use of the "small" box, and the first reference in these cables to "the water table" as a threat – the waterboarding that would later be applied to Nashiri three times. CIA censored the final six pages of this cable in full.
2002-11-18
This cable likely covered the third or fourth day (November 17-18) of Nashiri’s interrogation at the Thailand black site commanded by Gina Haspel. CIA redacted most of the description of the two sessions on that day, one that started at 1013 local time, and the other – "following lunch and several strategy meetings between base personnel" – at 1555 local time. Before and after, Nashiri was hooded and confined to the "large" box; while during the sessions, he was "backed against the walling panel."
2002-11-19
Even though CIA redacted the date of this cable and other identifying information in the first and second paragraphs, the similarities between this cable and one released in February 2018 as a result of the ACLU’s Salim v. Mitchell civil lawsuit, followed by the DeFraia v. CIA FOIA lawsuit, suggest that this cable covers the first torture session on Day Five of Nashiri’s detention, that is, November 19, 2002. The deletion in the first paragraph, about the request to headquarters to "provide us with a copy [redacted] to facilitate future debriefings," was apparently released in February: "provide us with a copy of pocket litter found on subject, to facilitate future debriefings." The Day Five first session lasted over an hour, starting at 0950, when "subject was removed from the large box and was led, hooded, to the walling wall." The session included the "attention grab" technique and the "walling technique for emphasis," and an extended discussion of Nashiri’s failed attempts to acquire small boats for attacks in the Strait of Hormuz – one of his recruits apparently diverted his wooden ship to the sheep trade between Somalia and Yemen. "Subject was locked in the large box at 1054 hours."
2002-11-19
Although CIA redacted the cable number from this document, similarities with Cable 11284 above and 11294 below and the substance of the discussion place this cable in the same sequence, and associate the cables that do have numbers with the "Day Five" attribution that was released here. Also released here but redacted from 11284 is the request for the subject’s pocket litter. But the numbered cables include much more detail on the interrogation process; while here, after "subject was removed from the large box and moved to the walling wall," and asked about the timeline after the late March 2002 cancellation of the Hormuz operation, almost all of the text is redacted.
2002-11-19
There is some contradiction between this cable and the next in number sequence. This one reported the "final afternoon session" started at 1345 while 11294 says the "third session lasted from 1545 hours to 1700 hours." The cables may be talking about two different "third" sessions, or perhaps an afternoon session that started with an unusual outside questioner and then moved back to the regular interrogators. Here, the person asking questions was not Mitchell or Jessen, the HVTI psychologists who were the usual interrogators, but someone outside the core torture group, perhaps sent from headquarters to pose questions about the "ref requirements." Notably, the questioner was repeatedly "asked to leave the room" while the interrogators apply the "attention grab" and walling "on several occasions."
2002-11-19
The cable number sequence connects this cable to 11293 and 11284 above, and the Day Five torture sessions with Nashiri. Questions apparently focused on Nashiri’s associates in Yemen, and the interrogators employed on multiple occasions the "attention grab" and the "walling technique." Most of the text is redacted. At the end, "subject was also warned to drink more of his water, and was then locked in his box at 1700 hours."
2002-11-22
While CIA redacted the cable number and date (while leaving in the Zulu time when the cable was sent), CIA released the reference in the first line of paragraph two to "Day Seven" of Nashiri’s detention, which would make this date November 21. This cable included an unusual "Base Comment" probably written by Haspel, the base chief, on the difficulties of translation, both of questions and answers, during interrogation. Haspel wrote, "For much of the first hour, most of subject’s responses came piecemeal, and in response to direct questions. Subject appeared confused at times, and [redacted] later observed that many of subject’s Arabic sentences had been disjointed and may have reflected subject’s misunderstanding of questions. After a subsequent mid-interrogation meeting identified this problem, subject’s responses appeared more coherent." Details in this cable included references to "the chain connecting his leg shackles to his handcuffs," Nashiri’s forced nudity replaced by a "towel to wear," the forcible shaving of his head and beard "while subject cried and grimaced theatrically," after which he "was led back into his large box."
2002-11-22
While CIA redacted the cable number and date (while leaving in the Zulu time when the cable was sent), CIA released the reference in the first line of paragraph two to "Day Eight" of Nashiri’s detention, which would make this date November 22 (a CIA typo renders the year 2001, actually 2002). Most of the substance in this report was redacted, but two sections detailed Mitchell and Jessen’s torture techniques. At the beginning, one [redacted name] interrogator "snarled" at Nashiri, "You are our prisoner, we are your keepers, and it doesn’t get much lower than that," while using "the walling technique" and saying "in fact I’d like to do it just based on general principles." Later, interrogators explained to Nashiri that "until it became clear that subject’s information was false, he would be given solid food and allowed to sleep on the floor of his cell with a mat and a towel to cover himself" – meaning the usual routine had been liquid food, nudity, and the confinement box. "Security team also removed the small box from his cell, leaving it on the other side of the bars."
2002-11-26
CIA redacted the date of this cable, but the declassified CIA Inspector General report described the waterboarding of Nashiri as beginning on the 12th day of his detention, which would make the date November 26, 2002. This cable from the Thailand black site commanded by Gina Haspel back to CIA ALEC Station reported, "Interrogation escalated rapidly from subject being aggressively debriefed by interrogators while standing at the walling wall, to multiple applications of the walling technique, and ultimately, multiple applications of the watering technique." At one point, Nashiri "was left strapped to the waterboard to contemplate his fate" for 20 minutes; afterwards, Mitchell and Jessen told him "no matter what subject thought might happen to him, interrogators were not going to let subject come to grave harm; indeed, they were going to ensure that he would be able to answer the questions they would pose to him again and again." "The water treatment was applied at 1214 hours," after which "Interrogators covered subject’s head with the hood and left him on the water board, moaning, shaking and asking God to help him repeatedly…." Mitchell and Jessen applied another "water treatment" at 1340 hours (likely a typo for 1240) saying "they wanted to know of operations against the U.S. Subject was not being honest with them, and they were willing to continue to give subject the same treatment, day in and day out, for months if need be, until subject decided to cooperate." But "Subject again said that there were no operations, they weren’t talking operations, and begged interrogators to tell him more so that he would be able to remember what they wanted." The cable included some confusing reports on timing: paragraph 12 gave 1340 as the time for the second waterboarding, while paragraph 13 listed 1252 as the time when Nashiri was locked, naked, in the small box, and the second paragraph reported the whole torture session as lasting from 1107 to 1252, so 1240 was likely the actual time of the waterboarding.
2002-11-26
Again CIA redacted the date of this cable, but the text describes the precise timing of two torture sessions that were also mentioned in Cable 11322 above, which is likely the "Ref A" cable that is deleted here. The declassified CIA Inspector General report established that the waterboarding of Nashiri began on Day 12 of his detention, which would make this date November 26, 2002. This second torture session lasted from 1655 to 1850, and included one "water board treatment" after "interrogators told subject he was not being helpful, that he was taking their words and spitting them back, and that subject was leaving them with no choice in the matter. Interrogators advised that they could not believe subject when all he was telling them were lies; interrogators were going to get the truth out of subject eventually. Over subject’s protests, the water technique was applied. Interrogators told subject they were going to do this again, and again, and again until subject decided to be truthful; subject mumbled something unintelligible."
2002-11-29
This cable from the Thailand black site to CIA ALEC Station reported on two interrogation sessions with Nashiri, and included several new elements different from the previous cables in this series. First was Nashiri’s name, previously rendered as ‘Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri, and now as ‘Abd Al-Rahim Husayn Muhammad ‘Abdu Nashir. Second was the mention that Nashiri would soon be "moved to another facility (described as a much worse place)" – the Thailand site would be closed on December 4, 2002 because of tensions with the Thai government and CIA’s discovery that a major U.S. newspaper was on to the location, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee torture report. Third was the "base note" included in paragraph 3 about Nashiri’s small gesture towards privacy, that the "small box had been moved by subject overnight to the far corner of the cell, to block the view of subject’s waste bucket from direct view through the cell bars" – to which "interrogators informed subject that this was not his space at all – it was their space, and he was not to do anything with it without their permission." Fourth was the actual admission of failure by the interrogators Mitchell and Jessen: "Interrogators then told subject that his non-compliance with their requests for accurate, meaningful information was really all their fault, for not conditioning subject properly. Likening the conditioning process to tenderizing a fine steak, interrogators told subject that perhaps he similarly just needed conditioning and ‘tenderizing’ to be ready for what interrogators were asking of him." This was after extended sessions of physical violence, wall slamming, box confinement, sleep deprivation, forced nudity, shackling, stress positions, and waterboarding. The marked differences between the prior cables and the cables after this date from the Thailand black site suggest the possibility that someone other than Gina Haspel may have authored or authorized them. Haspel may have finished her temporary duty assignment as chief of base (the end of November would have been 30 days since she arrived), and been succeeded by a new base chief. The U.S. Senate process that confirmed Haspel as CIA director in 2018 failed to establish any actual dates for her responsibilities at the Thailand black site and other CIA posts, leaving her as the first undercover CIA director in U.S. history.
2002-12-01
Although CIA censored the date and cable number (while leaving the Zulu time the cable was sent), the first line of paragraph 2 is designated "Day 16" of Nashiri’s torture, which makes the date of the interrogation sessions November 30, 2002. Again, this cable reported Nashiri was told of "the new, much worse place" to which "he would be going within days." The cable also reported continued failure by Mitchell and Jessen: "During the interrogation, subject exhibited signs of resistance and provided little new or verifiable information." In response, the interrogators cooked up what the cable called "a theatrically flawless ‘rescue’ scenario designed to accomplish four things, all aimed at decreasing subject’s ability to predict or control events as a resistor" including "anxiety for his safety," "conditioning of learned helplessness," and "fear of the unknown." "Security team members burst into the subject’s cell, shouting and howling" while one of the interrogators "who could not be seen by hooded subject" "walled him five times" and then pretended to interrupt the mock killing and rescue him. Afterwards, Nashiri could be seen "crying and blowing his nose, and after perhaps 10 minutes composed himself, and could be seen sitting quietly in the corner of his cell on some tissue paper which he had carefully folded into a pad." The contract psychologists of course "judged that the rescue theatrics had gone exactly as planned and had served their intended purpose."
2002-12-01
It’s unknown if Gina Haspel was still the chief of base of detention site GREEN in Thailand on December 1, 2002. But whoever was in charge and authored or authorized this cable back to CIA ALEC Station, the report marked a descent into language right out of spy novels or the "Shades of Gray" series to describe potentially criminal behavior by CIA employees. "HVTI [redacted, either Mitchell or Jessen] and linguist [redacted] strode, catlike, into the well-lit confines of the cell at 0902 hrs [redacted], deftly removed the subject’s black hood with a swipe, paused, and in a deep, measured voice said that subject – having ‘calmed down’ after his (staged) run-in with his hulking, heavily muscled guards the previous day [see Document 15 above] – should reveal what subject had done to vex his guards to the point of rage."
Thailand black site report to CIA ALEC Station on "catlike" torture December 1, 2002
