Former CIA Director Approved Destruction Of Torture Tapes, Reports Reveals

April 18th, 2010 - 7:33 pm ICT by GD  

By Gina Gomez
ciaWashington, Apr 18, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Internal CIA documents that have been released recently indicate that former CIA director Porter Goss gave his approval to destroy tapes that showed United States officials undertaking extremely harsh torture techniques to interrogate terror suspects. This fact has been brought to light by internet emails that have been released by the Justice Department in response to a request made by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act.

According the Central Intelligence Agency document, in the year 2005, the head of CIA’s clandestine service, Jose Rodriguez took the decision of destroying as many as hundred torture tapes, an initiative that was supposedly supported by Porter Goss. However, Jose Rodriguez was supposedly alarmed that if news of the destruction of the torture tapes ever came to the limelight it would have disastrous implications on the Central Intelligence Agency. The document highlights that the former CIA director laughed at the proposition and added that if ever that happened then he would be taking all the heat. However, senior intelligence officials have reportedly revealed that Porter Goss did not agree that the tapes should be destroyed and is said to have been upset about not being informed when the torture tapes were destructed.

The tapes in question showed US officials undertake waterboarding technique to interrogate Al-Queda suspects who have been identified as Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah in the year 2002. The torture tapes were supposedly kept at a CIA office in Bangkok for a period of three years before it was ultimately destroyed. Investigators are in the process of probing who knew about the destruction of the torture tapes.

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