| Author | Message | | Alpha | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2004 3:14 pm Post subject: Israeli Interrogator at Abu Ghraib Prison Claim on BBC |
| http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3158747
Sat 3 Jul 2004
1:54pm (UK)
Israeli Interrogator at Abu Ghraib Prison Claim on BBC
"PA"
The American general formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib prison has told the BBC that she has evidence that the Israelis were involved in interrogating Iraqi detainees at another facility.
Brig Gen Janis Karpinski, who was suspended in May over allegations of prisoner abuse, said she met a man claiming to be Israeli during a visit to a Baghdad intelligence centre with a senior coalition general.
“I saw an individual there that I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter – he was clearly from the Middle East,” Karpinski told BBC radio in an interview broadcast today.
“He said, ’Well I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic but I’m not an Arab I’m from Israel.’ “I was really kind of surprised by that ... He didn’t elaborate any more than to say he was working with them and there were people from lots of different places that were involved in the operation,” Karpinski added.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry told the BBC that reports of Israeli troops or interrogators in Iraq were “completely untrue.” Israeli officials could not immediately be reached.
The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq would inflame opinion in the Muslim world, where many compare the abuse of prisoners by US forces to Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees.
Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret service interrogators were allowed to use “moderate physical pressure” – a euphemism, critics said, for torture.
Among the practices allowed prior to 1999 were sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners in uncomfortable positions for long periods and covering their heads with filthy sacks.
Former prisoners say those techniques also were used by US forces in Iraq.
Karpinski was suspended from command of the 800th Military Police Brigade after the publication in April of photos showing soldiers abusing and humiliating naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib.
She has said she did not know about the abuse and is being made a scapegoat in the scandal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Abu Ghraib commander says she met Israeli interrogator in Iraq
LONDON (AP) -- The American general formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib
prison says she has evidence Israelis were involved in interrogating
Iraqi detainees at another facility.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was suspended in May over allegations
of prisoner abuse, said she met a man claiming to be Israeli during a
visit to a Baghdad intelligence center with a senior coalition
general.
"I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet
before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter --
he was clearly from the Middle East," Karpinski told British
Broadcasting Corp. radio in an interview broadcast Saturday. "He
said, 'Well I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic but
I'm not an Arab; I'm from Israel.'
"I was really kind of surprised by that ... He didn't elaborate any
more than to say he was working with them and there were people from
lots of different places that were involved in the operation,"
Karpinski added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry told the BBC that reports of Israeli troops
or interrogators in Iraq were "completely untrue." Israeli officials
could not immediately be reached by The Associated Press.
The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq would inflame opinion in the
Muslim world, where many compare the abuse of prisoners by U.S.
forces to Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees.
Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret
service interrogators were allowed to use "moderate physical
pressure" -- a euphemism, critics said, for torture.
Among the practices allowed prior to 1999 were sleep deprivation,
keeping prisoners in uncomfortable positions for long periods and
covering their heads with filthy sacks. Former prisoners say those
techniques also were used by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Karpinski was suspended from command of the 800th Military Police
Brigade after the publication in April of photos showing soldiers
abusing and humiliating naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib. She has
said she did not know about the abuse and is being made a scapegoat
in the scandal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
General Janis Karpinski and Wayne Madsen conveyed the Israeli
connection to the interrogations in Iraq (
http://www.counterpunch.org/madsen05102004.html ) in the BBC 4 radio
segment this morning which one can listen to on their computer via
the following URL:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/
General Janis Karpinski's segment will be archived under July 3rd,
2004 at the following URL (after today) if you don't pick up this
email until Monday:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/listenagain_archive.shtml
A full transcript of General Karpinski's interview (which mentioned
an Israeli connection to the interrogations in Iraq and how Rumsfeld
conveyed instructions for the torture/abuse at Abu Ghraib) for 'The
Signal' is now linked at the following URL:
http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/signal/iraq/
You can hear Jonathan Davis' interview with the BBC via the link
which you can scroll down to at the following URL:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/zmonday_20040628.shtml
More on Jonathan Davis and his son (Javal) via the following URL:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/05/1680731.php
Abu Ghraib Prison Torture Scandal Goes to the Highest Level:
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/articles/2004/06/13/interrogation-abuses-were-approved-at-highest-levels.php
James Bamford's New Book ('A Pretext for War') on the Neocon
Warmongers:
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2004/06/14/iraq-war-for-israel-according-to-james-bamford-s-new-book.php | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2004 5:58 pm Post subject: US GENERAL SAYS MET ISRAELI INTERROGATOR IN IRAQ |
| US general says met Israeli interrogator in Iraq
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. general who was in charge of
Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison said on Saturday she had met an
Israeli interrogator in Iraq, a controversial allegation likely to
irritate many in the Arab world.
A U.S. military spokesman in Washington said he had no information
and an Israeli official denied Israel was involved.
Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski, who was responsible for military
police guarding all Iraqi jails at the time prisoners were abused by
U.S. troops there, told the BBC she met the Israeli at a Baghdad
interrogation centre.
"He was clearly from the Middle East and he said: 'Well, I do some of
the interrogation here and of course I speak Arabic, but I'm not an
Arab. I'm from Israel'," she said.
"My initial reaction was to laugh because I thought maybe he was
joking, and I realised he was serious," said Karpinski who has been
suspended from her command for failings at Abu Ghraib but has not
been charged with any wrongdoing.
An Israeli security source told Reuters: "Israel was not and is not
involved in the interrogation of anyone in Iraq."
Israeli involvement in Iraq could anger Arabs who accuse Washington
of favouring the Jewish state in its conflict with the Palestinians
and in wider disputes with its Arab neighbours.
Israel has denied similar reports in the past of involvement in U.S.
operations in the Middle East. Last month, it denied a report in the
New Yorker magazine that it was training Kurdish fighters in Iraq to
counter Shi'ite militias there.
Photographs of military police abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib and
other reports of abuse have led to hearings in Congress and fuelled
Arab and international outrage.
(Additional reporting by Corinne Heller in Jerusalem)
----------------------------------
07/03/04 11:37 ET
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3158747
Sat 3 Jul 2004
1:54pm (UK)
Israeli Interrogator at Abu Ghraib Prison Claim on BBC
"PA"
The American general formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib prison has told
the BBC that she has evidence that the Israelis were involved in
interrogating Iraqi detainees at another facility.
Brig Gen Janis Karpinski, who was suspended in May over allegations
of prisoner abuse, said she met a man claiming to be Israeli during a
visit to a Baghdad intelligence centre with a senior coalition
general.
"I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet
before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter –
he was clearly from the Middle East," Karpinski told BBC radio in an
interview broadcast today.
"He said, 'Well I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic
but I'm not an Arab I'm from Israel.' "I was really kind of surprised
by that ... He didn't elaborate any more than to say he was working
with them and there were people from lots of different places that
were involved in the operation," Karpinski added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry told the BBC that reports of Israeli troops
or interrogators in Iraq were "completely untrue." Israeli officials
could not immediately be reached.
The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq would inflame opinion in the
Muslim world, where many compare the abuse of prisoners by US forces
to Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees.
Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret
service interrogators were allowed to use "moderate physical
pressure" – a euphemism, critics said, for torture.
Among the practices allowed prior to 1999 were sleep deprivation,
keeping prisoners in uncomfortable positions for long periods and
covering their heads with filthy sacks.
Former prisoners say those techniques also were used by US forces in
Iraq.
Karpinski was suspended from command of the 800th Military Police
Brigade after the publication in April of photos showing soldiers
abusing and humiliating naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib.
She has said she did not know about the abuse and is being made a
scapegoat in the scandal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Former Abu Ghraib commander says she met Israeli interrogator in Iraq
LONDON (AP) -- The American general formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib
prison says she has evidence Israelis were involved in interrogating
Iraqi detainees at another facility.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was suspended in May over allegations
of prisoner abuse, said she met a man claiming to be Israeli during a
visit to a Baghdad intelligence center with a senior coalition
general.
"I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet
before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter --
he was clearly from the Middle East," Karpinski told British
Broadcasting Corp. radio in an interview broadcast Saturday. "He
said, 'Well I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic but
I'm not an Arab; I'm from Israel.'
"I was really kind of surprised by that ... He didn't elaborate any
more than to say he was working with them and there were people from
lots of different places that were involved in the operation,"
Karpinski added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry told the BBC that reports of Israeli troops
or interrogators in Iraq were "completely untrue." Israeli officials
could not immediately be reached by The Associated Press.
The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq would inflame opinion in the
Muslim world, where many compare the abuse of prisoners by U.S.
forces to Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees.
Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret
service interrogators were allowed to use "moderate physical
pressure" -- a euphemism, critics said, for torture.
Among the practices allowed prior to 1999 were sleep deprivation,
keeping prisoners in uncomfortable positions for long periods and
covering their heads with filthy sacks. Former prisoners say those
techniques also were used by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Karpinski was suspended from command of the 800th Military Police
Brigade after the publication in April of photos showing soldiers
abusing and humiliating naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib. She has
said she did not know about the abuse and is being made a scapegoat
in the scandal. | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 11:50 pm Post subject: U.S. General Says Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq |
| http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-iraq-usa-israel.html
July 3, 2004
U.S. General Says Met Israeli Interrogator in Iraq
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:33 p.m. ET
LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. general who was in charge of Baghdad's
notorious Abu Ghraib prison said on Saturday she had met an Israeli
interrogator in Iraq, a claim Israel denied but which was likely to
irritate many in the Arab world.
Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski, who was responsible for military
police guarding all Iraqi jails at the time prisoners were abused by
U.S. troops there, told the BBC she met the Israeli at a Baghdad
interrogation center.
``He was clearly from the Middle East and he said: 'Well, I do some of
the interrogation here and of course I speak Arabic, but I'm not an
Arab. I'm from Israel','' she said.
``My initial reaction was to laugh because I thought maybe he was
joking, and I realized he was serious,'' said Karpinski who has been
suspended from her command for failings at Abu Ghraib but has not been
charged with any wrongdoing.
A U.S. military spokesman in Washington said he had no information and
Israel denied it.
``There is no basis or support in the reports regarding the alleged
involvement of Israeli interrogators in interrogating prisoners or
captives in Iraq. These reports are firmly denied,'' Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon's office said in a statement.
An Israeli security source told Reuters: ``Israel was not and is not
involved in the interrogation of anyone in Iraq.''
Israeli involvement in Iraq could anger Arabs who accuse Washington of
favoring the Jewish state in its conflict with the Palestinians and in
wider disputes with its Arab neighbors.
Israel has denied similar reports in the past of involvement in U.S.
operations in the Middle East. Last month, it denied a report in the New
Yorker magazine that it was training Kurdish fighters in Iraq to counter
Shi'ite militias there.
Photographs of military police abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib and other
reports of abuse have led to hearings in Congress and fueled Arab and
international outrage. | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:51 am Post subject: Pentagon Does Not Ban Israeli Interrogators from Working in |
| Pentagon Does Not Ban Israeli Interrogators from Working in Iraq:
http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/signal/iraq/sg070704.htm
James Bamford's New Book ('A Pretext for War') on the Neocon
Warmongers:
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/middle-east-and-asia/2004/06/14/iraq-war-for-israel-according-to-james-bamford-s-new-book.php
Israeli Interrogators 'In Iraq':
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/the-americas/2004/07/05/israeli-interrogators-in-iraq.php
Rumsfeld gave go-ahead for Abu Ghraib tactics, says general in charge
By Julian Coman in Washington
(Filed: 04/07/2004)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
The former head of the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad has for the first time accused the American Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, of directly authorising Guantanamo Bay-style interrogation tactics.
Brig-Gen Janis Karpinski, who commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade, which is at the centre of the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal, said that documents yet to be released by the Pentagon would show that Mr Rumsfeld personally approved the introduction of harsher conditions of detention in Iraq. In an interview with The Signal newspaper of Santa Clarita, California, which was also broadcast on a local television channel yesterday, Gen Karpinski was asked if she knew of documents showing that Mr Rumsfeld approved "particular interrogation techniques" for Abu Ghraib.
Gen Karpinski was interviewed for four hours by Maj- Gen Antonio Taguba, who was ordered to investigate abuse at Abu Ghraib and produced a damning report, which heavily criticised Gen Karpinski for a lack of leadership at the prison.
During inquiries into the scandal, she has repeatedly maintained that the treatment of Iraqi detainees was taken out of her hands by higher-ranking officials, acting on orders from Washington.
"Since all this came out," she replied, "I've not only seen, but I've been asked about some of those documents, that he [Mr Rumsfeld] signed and agreed to."
Asked whether the documents have been made public, Gen Karpinski replied "No" and went on to describe the methods approved in them as involving "dogs, food deprivation and sleep deprivation".
The Pentagon has consistently denied that Mr Rumsfeld authorised the transfer of harsher techniques of interrogation and detention from Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib, where all prisoners are supposed to be protected by the Geneva Conventions.
Replying to Gen Karpinski's allegations, a spokesman for the Pentagon told The Telegraph: "Mr Rumsfeld did not approve any interrogation procedures in Iraq. The Secretary of Defence was not in the approval chain for interrogation procedures, which would have remained within the purview of Central Command, headed by Gen John Abizaid."
The Bush administration has been dogged by suspicions that harsh interrogation methods employed at Guantanamo were transferred to Abu Ghraib, as Iraqi insurgents began to score significant hits against coalition forces last year. In May, before the Senate armed services committee, Stephen Cambone, the under-secretary of defence for intelligence, publicly denied charges that Mr Rumsfeld had approved Guantanamo-style interrogations in Iraq.
Last month, the White House took the unusual step of releasing hundreds of internal documents and debates concerning interrogation procedures at Guantanamo. Extreme interrogation techniques at the camp, it was revealed, now require the explicit approval of Mr Rumsfeld. The Bush administration insists, however, that the notorious abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib was an aberration on the part of a handful of rogue soldiers. A Pentagon spokesman said that all relevant documents on interrogation techniques in Iraq would be made public but could not say when.
Gen Karpinski has been suspended from duty pending ongoing investigations into abuse of prisoners at the Baghdad prison. In a recent interview with the BBC, she complained of being turned into a scapegoat for the scandal, arguing that the running of the prison was taken out of her hands.
In a separate embarrassment for the Department of Defence last week, six recent studies, leaked to the Los Angeles Times, heavily criticised the military for failing to screen adequately potential recruits with violent and even criminal backgrounds.
The reports were written by a senior Pentagon consultant. One was delivered in September 2003, weeks before the worst abuses of Iraqi prisoners took place. The title of the report was Reducing the Threat of Destructive Behaviour by Military Personnel.
In it the author, Eli Flyer, a former senior analyst at the Department of Defence, stated: "There are military personnel with pre-service and in-service records that clearly establish a pattern of sub-standard behaviour. These individuals constitute a high-risk group for destructive behaviour and need to be identified."
According to a 1998 report by Mr Flyer, one third of military recruits had arrest records. A 1995 report found that a quarter of serving army personnel had committed one or more criminal offences while on active duty. In his 2003 study, Mr Flyer said that military personnel officers had been reluctant to toughen up screening procedures, fearing that the result would be a failure to meet recruitment goals.
Curtis Gilroy, who oversees military recruiting policy for the Pentagon, told the Los Angeles Times: "It's hard to pick out all the bad apples, but we are striving to improve the system and are doing so."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US general says met Israeli interrogator in Iraq
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. general who was in charge of
Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison said on Saturday she had met an
Israeli interrogator in Iraq, a controversial allegation likely to
irritate many in the Arab world.
A U.S. military spokesman in Washington said he had no information
and an Israeli official denied Israel was involved.
Brigadier-General Janis Karpinski, who was responsible for military
police guarding all Iraqi jails at the time prisoners were abused by
U.S. troops there, told the BBC she met the Israeli at a Baghdad
interrogation centre.
"He was clearly from the Middle East and he said: 'Well, I do some of
the interrogation here and of course I speak Arabic, but I'm not an
Arab. I'm from Israel'," she said.
"My initial reaction was to laugh because I thought maybe he was
joking, and I realised he was serious," said Karpinski who has been
suspended from her command for failings at Abu Ghraib but has not
been charged with any wrongdoing.
An Israeli security source told Reuters: "Israel was not and is not
involved in the interrogation of anyone in Iraq."
Israeli involvement in Iraq could anger Arabs who accuse Washington
of favouring the Jewish state in its conflict with the Palestinians
and in wider disputes with its Arab neighbours.
Israel has denied similar reports in the past of involvement in U.S.
operations in the Middle East. Last month, it denied a report in the
New Yorker magazine that it was training Kurdish fighters in Iraq to
counter Shi'ite militias there.
Photographs of military police abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib and
other reports of abuse have led to hearings in Congress and fuelled
Arab and international outrage.
(Additional reporting by Corinne Heller in Jerusalem)
----------------------------------
07/03/04 11:37 ET
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3158747
Sat 3 Jul 2004
1:54pm (UK)
Israeli Interrogator at Abu Ghraib Prison Claim on BBC
"PA"
The American general formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib prison has told
the BBC that she has evidence that the Israelis were involved in
interrogating Iraqi detainees at another facility.
Brig Gen Janis Karpinski, who was suspended in May over allegations
of prisoner abuse, said she met a man claiming to be Israeli during a
visit to a Baghdad intelligence centre with a senior coalition
general.
"I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet
before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter –
he was clearly from the Middle East," Karpinski told BBC radio in an
interview broadcast today.
"He said, 'Well I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic
but I'm not an Arab I'm from Israel.' "I was really kind of surprised
by that ... He didn't elaborate any more than to say he was working
with them and there were people from lots of different places that
were involved in the operation," Karpinski added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry told the BBC that reports of Israeli troops
or interrogators in Iraq were "completely untrue." Israeli officials
could not immediately be reached.
The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq would inflame opinion in the
Muslim world, where many compare the abuse of prisoners by US forces
to Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees.
Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret
service interrogators were allowed to use "moderate physical
pressure" – a euphemism, critics said, for torture.
Among the practices allowed prior to 1999 were sleep deprivation,
keeping prisoners in uncomfortable positions for long periods and
covering their heads with filthy sacks.
Former prisoners say those techniques also were used by US forces in
Iraq.
Karpinski was suspended from command of the 800th Military Police
Brigade after the publication in April of photos showing soldiers
abusing and humiliating naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib.
She has said she did not know about the abuse and is being made a
scapegoat in the scandal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040704/news_1n4abuse.html
One general links Israelis to abuse at Iraq prison
ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 4, 2004
LONDON – The U.S. general formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib prison says there are signs Israelis were involved in interrogating Iraqi detainees at another facility.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, suspended in May over allegations of prisoner abuse, said she met a man who told her he was Israeli while she was visiting a Baghdad intelligence center with a senior coalition general.
"I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter – he was clearly from the Middle East," Karpinski told British Broadcasting Corp. radio in an interview broadcast Saturday. "He said, 'Well, I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic but I'm not an Arab; I'm from Israel.'
"I was really kind of surprised by that. . . . He didn't elaborate any more than to say he was working with them, and there were people from lots of different places that were involved in the operation," Karpinski added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry told the BBC that reports of Israeli troops or interrogators in Iraq were "completely untrue." The allegations were also denied in a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office.
"The prime minister's office declares this evening that there is no basis and no foundation to the reports regarding supposed involvement of Israeli interrogators in investigating Iraqi hostages or prisoners," it said in a statement. "These reports are vehemently denied."
The U.S. military has used private contract workers in the interrogations along with military personnel. The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq would inflame opinion in the Muslim world, where many compare the abuse of prisoners by U.S. forces to Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees.
Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret service interrogators were allowed to use "moderate physical pressure" – a euphemism, critics said, for torture.
Among the practices allowed before 1999 were sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners in uncomfortable positions for long periods and covering their heads with filthy sacks. Former prisoners say some of those techniques also were used by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Karpinski was suspended from command of the 800th Military Police Brigade after the publication in April of photos showing soldiers abusing and humiliating naked Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib. She has said she did not know about the abuse and is being made a scapegoat in the scandal. | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2004 2:16 pm Post subject: Janes: Israeli interrogators in Iraq - An exclusive report |
| http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/fr/fr040707_1_n.shtml
Israeli interrogators in Iraq - An exclusive report
At least one aspect of the occupation of Iraq was well planned by Washington. The USA needed help conducting mass interrogations of Arabic-speaking detainees. Foreign Report can now reveal that, to make up for this shortfall, the USA employed Israeli security service (Shin Bet) experts to help their US counterparts 'break' their captives.
The USA could have approached other friendly regimes in the Middle East, such as Egypt or Jordan, which have vast experience interrogating Muslim fundamentalists. The Israelis may be brilliant linguists, but they cannot match Arabs speaking their own language. But there is a significant difference between the Egyptian and Jordanian interrogation techniques and those of the Israelis. For the Egyptian and Jordanian secret services, physical torture is an essential part of interrogation and a key element in breaking the prisoner's will and making them co-operative.
In the past, Shin Bet would use torture when it interrogated prisoners. But 20 years ago, an Israeli government committee investigated the security service's practices and the use of torture was subsequently banned, forcing Shin Bet to adopt a variety of techniques that did not cause physical damage. These new methods are much more palatable to US sensibilities. They also brought faster and more convincing results.
Foreign Report has learnt that top Shin Bet interrogation experts were sent to Iraq to help with the most difficult interrogations, such as the captured heads of the Iraqi intelligence - and perhaps with former president Saddam Hussein. US sources say that in spite of the incidences of abuse in Abu Ghraib prison, such events are not representative of the sophisticated methods that Shin Bet used in Iraq.
Most of the Shin Bet interrogators are of Ashkenazim (European) origin who study the Arabic language only when they are in their twenties after joining the security service. Before each interrogation a psychologist who has studied in depth the mental profile of the prisoner is consulted. The interrogator will also read intelligence reports about their charge.
328 of 779 words
[End of non-subscriber extract.]
The full version of this article is accessible through our subscription services. Please refer to the box below for details. | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:33 am Post subject: Israeli Interrogators in Iraq |
| Israeli interrogators 'in Iraq'
Brig Gen Janis Karpinski told the BBC she met an Israeli working as an interrogator at a secret intelligence centre in Baghdad. A BBC reporter says it is the first time a senior US officer has suggested Israelis worked with the coalition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3863235.stm | | | | Alpha | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
