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Levin Enters the Fray, Lashes Out at Cheney

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Carl Levin Traces US Torture Tactics to Communist Regime

03 min 09 sec

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Senator Carl Levin traces the origins of interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

He argues the techniques "were based on abusive tactics...used by the Chinese communists" and "never intended to be used against detainees in our custody."
Levin Argues Torture Leads to Unreliable Intelligence

02 min 28 sec

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Senator Carl Levin argues that information gathered through torture is unreliable and can lead to disastrous results.

He says "treating detainees harshly is actually a roadblock to getting intelligence" because it reinforces terrorist's distorted worldview.
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21 min 05 sec

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There are 11 comments on this program

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Previous FORAtv comments:

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Mark Sullivan

Posted: 07.25.10, 10:26 PM

That Levin has a sweet combover!

rlau_dovy

Posted: 01.07.10, 05:20 AM

The question is not on whether intelligence collected from torture is valid or flaw. Even if it was valid, it carried with a great cost of fueling terrorism propaganda to the extreme. Those terrorists carrying bombs were on suicidal mission. Think of them. They did not lay down the bomb and ran away. They gave their life out of martyr belief or great dissent against America, which was painted as wicked and unjust. Every one of the released person who came out from torture become the most effective evangelist bearing personal witness about how they were being treated. For one evangelist go out to preach three persons to fight for his cause, the multiplier effect can be very hard to deal with no matter how many soldiers are deployed out. So, even a piece of intelligence from torture is valid, torture assists the terrorists recruit far more people willing to sympathize with them, support them with money and even join them.

Stevep

Posted: 07.21.09, 03:17 PM

RoyalWe, I didn’t hear the BS in Levin's remarks. You might want to believe that cheney is some type of paper hero but he is a criminal and a liar. Look at the facts and it is clear as glass that torture doesn't work. The interrogator at GITMO before torture started stated the key prisoner he was interrogating was cooperating until the torture started. Then he shut down. Now, he testified under oath before congress, which is more than bush or cheney ever had the balls to do, and he stated it didn't work. Americans don't want torture used on other humans. The bush administration can't even prosecute the prisoners in GITMO because they paid bounty to obtain most of them. It's shameful, and in our name.

Stevep

Posted: 07.21.09, 02:45 PM

I watched this video and thought it was dishonest and simply opinion. Much research has been done on the effects of torture and what results it produces. McCain himself states that he lied under torture just to stop the pain. What I find more fascinating is that this zonie clown wants to justify cheney breaking the law and lying about it. It’s not ok to do this when you hold the office of VP. Just because cheney says he can do it doesn't mean he can. I want to see the Justice Department, Holder, grow a pair and investigate bush and cheney and all the rest of the criminals that swarmed in the White House for the past 8 years. Their actions, on many fronts, have done grave damage to this nation. They have been responsible for the death of 4,500 service members because they lied about WMD. How do we forget so fast the awful predicament these careless, self-righteous, manipulative, evil bastards have cast upon America? I saw we prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

Stevep

Posted: 07.21.09, 02:31 PM

As a former "Lifer" I salute Carl Levin for telling it like it is about the evil person named cheney, but I'll call him dick! He was too busy to do his duty but wants to lie about the lives his inhumane, illegal practices saved, he is despicable. Now I have to question why, with all the data available, isn't the Justice Department getting these criminals gathered and under oath. We put countless number of people away for dope; let’s start putting the Dopes away too.

pokerandwine

Posted: 07.09.09, 01:15 PM

Just found this video that sort of justifying Cheney's torture policy and puts down Keith Olibermann. Check it out http://www.pjtv.com/v/2119

Vasil

Posted: 06.19.09, 12:36 PM

There’s a huge dissonance in the numerous reports dealing with effectiveness of torture practices. For instance in 2005 The Washington Post released the article titled “The Torture Myth”. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Jan11.html It describes torture as “ineffective” and often unnecessary interrogation technique, mostly because "nine out of 10 people can be persuaded to talk with no "stress methods" at all, let alone cruel and unusual ones". Of course, in dealing with religious extremists the percentage of success goes down to 6 from 10. In either case, I believe that those who're happy to sacrifice themselves in the name of Jihad would unlikely to tell the truth, but would rather tell anything more or less believable to stop the torture.

adambl

Posted: 06.17.09, 03:50 PM

But good information is useless if it's mixed in with bad information. You can't act on any information obtained through torture since you don't know if it's true or not. Granted, it could provide a starting point for further investigation, but then you gotta ask if it's worth the damage to America's reputation.

eglasgow

Posted: 06.17.09, 02:26 PM

RoyalWe obviously was not suggesting anything by referring to Panetta as Levin's fellow Democrat...but if they were suggesting anything, it would be relevant, seeing as those who align on general party lines tend to share views on such issues as torture.

8:30dreamer +
FORA.tv Staff

Posted: 06.17.09, 01:57 PM

RoyalWe: While you make a valid point, I have a small bone to pick with your comment. The use of the phrase "Levin's fellow Democrat" suggests generalization. The fact that both call themselves Democrats does not mean they are similar politically or ideologically. To bring up the fact that two people share a broad political affiliation is irrelevant to almost any argument.

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