Guardian: Interrogators Pressured To Grill Iraq Fighters For Evidence On Iran

[Hissyspit]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2208997,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Iraqi fighters 'grilled for evidence on Iran'
Interrogator says US military seeks evidence incriminating Tehran

David Smith in Baghdad
Sunday November 11, 2007
The Observer

US military officials are putting huge pressure on interrogators who question Iraqi insurgents to find incriminating evidence pointing to Iran, it was claimed last night.
Micah Brose, a privately contracted interrogator working for American forces in Iraq, near the Iranian border, told The Observer that information on Iran is 'gold'. The claim comes after Washington imposed sanctions on Iran last month, citing both its nuclear ambitions and its Revolutionary Guards' alleged support of Shia insurgents in Iraq. Last week the US military freed nine Iranians held in Iraq, including two it had accused of links to the Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force.

Brose, 30, who extracts information from detainees in Iraq, said: 'They push a lot for us to establish a link with Iran. They have pre-categories for us to go through, and by the sheer volume of categories there's clearly a lot more for Iran than there is for other stuff. Of all the recent requests I've had, I'd say 60 to 70 per cent are about Iran.
'It feels a lot like, if you get something and Iran's not involved, it's a let down.' He added: 'I've had people say to me, "They're really pushing the Iran thing. It's like, shit, you know." '

Brose said that reports about Washington's increasingly hawkish stance towards Tehran, including possible military action, chimed with his experience. 'My impression is they're just trying to get every little bit of ammunition possible. If we get something here it fits the overall picture. The engine needs impetus and they're looking for us to find the fuel - a particular type of fuel.

'It now really depends on who gets elected President in the US. If nothing changes in the current course, I'd say military action is inevitable. But we have to hope there will be a change of course.'

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[PSPS]

1. "privately contracted interrogator ... who extracts information from detainees"

Let me guess. A bush crony set up a "Torturers R Us" with a no-bid contract.

[barbtries]

4. i had already selected and copied the text

to make the same remark. "a privately contracted interrogator working for American forces in Iraq" = bush admin-enabled torturer with no accountability in the event of injury or death.

i know this is old news but the outrage still wells every time i read something like this. it is so clearly wrong, so clearly in violation of law. LAW is what allows us to aspire to CIVILIZATION. it is the twenty-fucking-first century for gawdsake. we are moving in the wrong direction.

[jimshoes]

2. You know, if they grilled these detainees about

flying saucers, they'd get just as accurate info as anything else. This is shameful behavior on the US part. Are they using "enhanced interrogation techniques" a.k.a. torture?

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. "Tell us about the bombs coming from Iran or we'll kill you"

[SoCalDem]

5. Waterboarding's not enough.. now they're planning Weber-broiling?

bastards:evilgrin:

[formercia]

6. Even fabricated evidence is acceptable to Cheney

His office accepted fabricated evidence on Iraq's discontinued WMD program from sources deemed suspect. It would be quite plausible to assume that false evidence, gathered under torture or duress would be accepted as fact and presented as such.

[Gregorian]

7. Waterboarding our way to war with Iran. One waterboard at a time.

I hate these idiots. They're dragging the whole world down.