CIA Paid Torture Architects More Than $80 Million
[su_right_ad]The Senate report reveals that the CIA paid more than $80 million to consultants who taught the art of torture.
The contract was for more than $180 million, but the contractors had only received $81 million when their contract was terminated in 2009.
Although the committee identified the contractors via pseudonyms, NBC News has previously identified them as Mitchell, Jessen & Associates, a Spokane, Washington, company run by two psychologists, Dr. John “Bruce” Jessen and Dr. James Mitchell, who had both previously worked with the U.S. Air Force.
The report states that when they were hired the two did not have “specialized knowledge of al Qaeda, a background in counterterrorism or any relevant cultural or linguistic experience.”…
In late July 2002 the CIA turned to the psychologists, according to both former intelligence officials and congressional investigators. Jessen was then a senior psychologist at the Defense Department agency that taught special operations forces how to resist and endure torture via so called “SERE” training, or Survival, Evasion, Resistance Escape training, at a special “SERE” school…
[su_thin_right_skyscraper_ad]Within days of hiring Mitchell, Jessen & Associates, the CIA asked the Defense Department for a rush “list of exploitation and interrogation techniques that had been effective against Americans” in the SERE training…
Working with Mitchell, Jessen & Associates, the CIA soon developed a menu of 20 enhanced techniques — a list that was ultimately whittled down to 10, mainly because some of proposed techniques were considered too harsh even for terrorists. The techniques included waterboarding, sleep deprivation and forcing prisoners to assume “stress positions.”
John Rizzo, the acting CIA general counsel who met with the psychologists, wrote in his book, “Company Man,” that he found some of what Mitchell and Jessen were recommending “sadistic and terrifying.” One technique, he wrote, was “so gruesome that the Justice Department later stopped short of approving it.”
NBC News has been told by a senior U.S. intelligence official that Mitchell and Jessen had suggested “mock burial,” in which a detainee would be led to believe he would be buried alive if he didn’t talk. It was not approved.
Guy Lauten December 9th, 2014 at 10:19 pm
Not just bastards… bastards for money. Nice. Mother must be proud.
tiredoftea December 9th, 2014 at 10:22 pm
So, now we know how much the U.S. version of hiring Dr. Mengele costs.
fancypants December 9th, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap
tiredoftea December 9th, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Not dirt cheap this time.
fancypants December 9th, 2014 at 10:39 pm
it depends what country you ask ?
Obewon December 9th, 2014 at 11:01 pm
How much did this one cost? ‘We were going to bury alive untried detainees making them think they were dead.’-Halliburton Cheney Greedy Oil Party war criminal. Many untried & uncharged detainees were illegally killed by CIA during torture.
edmeyer_able December 10th, 2014 at 12:05 am
I wonder how many layers you would have to penetrate before you found cheney was at tha bottom of this company.
Foundryman December 10th, 2014 at 1:10 am
This should go down as one of the greatest days in our countries history. Exposing these crimes and these criminals is long overdue. Feinstein should be congratulated for this report, her courage in exposing it is an inspiration. The only thing better would be for human rights and war crime charges against Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld filed in the next few days.
rg9rts December 10th, 2014 at 2:56 am
PLEASE!!! May I see the job description???
Hass December 10th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Fox News Host says America tortures because we are awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PgIKAukheo
burqa December 10th, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Note that neither Mitchell or Jessen is credentialed as a trained interrogator. To date, I have not heard of a single person who was a trained professional interrogator who endorsed these practices of abuse and torture. On the other hand, I have in my notes quotes from over 60 interrogators who oppose those loathesome practices.
I was thrilled when President Obama cancelled their contract.
I would like to see American psychologists and the AMA express their opinion as to what they did.