CIA's Enhanced Interrogation Techniques



 

Kim Possible

     Do you remember what you  were  doing the day of the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013? I remember where I was, I was in school and our principal made an announcement to the entire school letting us know what was going on in Boston. Me and my friends were worried because we had a over night field trip to Boston in less than a month away. When people do horrible things to our country or our people around the world, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is there for us, getting answers to every question almost any citizen has at that point, "Who would do something like this?" "Why did they do this?".  Our good friend Kim Possible, who fought off terrorists for many years will help explain how the CIA gets these answers and how they keep us safe.

 

     If a person or persons plans or commits a terrorist attack on us our CIA meets with them and interviews them, but in CIA terms, interrogate them. We use many techniques to get them to talk to us, like telling them what charges they face. But if the person did a horrible act, like the famous 9/11 attack they usually are more harder to crack, so our CIA has to use enhanced interrogation techniques. These  techniques

The 9/11 Attack at World Trade Center

are much more harsh and a tad bit more effective in getting answers. It's kind of like when you were younger and your parents made you go to your room or made you sit in a corner  forcing  you think about your bad decisions. One method is known as long time standing. Long time standing is when the suspect is asked to stand for at least forty hours or until they talk, which ever comes first. This is known to be very effective because of how exhausting it can be (1). Our CIA also uses another method that is seen as very  forceful. Sometimes our CIA would send in a very pretty lady to get the young men to talk, to get some information out of him (2), this work sometimes but when it does, it is surprising  how useful the information is and the CIA can use that to protect us even more. Kim Possible used many tactics to get the bad guys, Shego and Drakken to talk about their evil plans to take over the world. Whether it was tying up Drakken (which she did often) or fighting Shego, she knew she had to do whatever it takes to protect the world.

     Our CIA has made deals with many countries like Sweden, Afghanistan, Denmark and others that if a person from that specific country tries to attack us they will have to stay in that countries prison and not sent to prisons in America, this process is known as "extraordinary rendition" and the prisons where the detainees or criminals are held are known as "black sites" (3). The CIA stated that the reason they do this is because they don't want terrorists to be put on American soil so they can plot an escape and be on the land that they wish to terrorize.

Kim Possible

     Our CIA uses advanced technology to catch these terrorists and there where abouts. We caught many of Osama bin Laden's (the man leading the 9/11 attack) followers just through our improved computers. Kim Possible did the same thing when trying to locate Drakken. She used many advanced gadgets given to her from her entrusted tech fancy friend, Wade. She used many things like a laser in the shape of lipstick and sunglasses that were used to find the evil Drakken in the dark. Now, our CIA doesn't have fancy lasers in the shape of lipsticks or anything like that, but our technology is efficient in finding the terrorists.
     Even though our CIA is trying their best to protect us from terrorists attacks, there are a few citizens that believe we should not use these tactics on criminals suspected of terror. One woman said in a poll she was asked to do, "The U.S. is not supposed to be that way. We are not like other countries that do torture" (4). There is much controversy whether or not our country should continue to allow our government to keep these methods. But one thing that citizens are thankful for, whether they agree or disagree, is that our government is very open in discussing these topics  with us.

The CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia

    Our government has the full ability to hide this information. They hid the conspiracies on Area 51 and many other things, but not this. President Obama decided to release this information to the public in December of 2014 (5). He believed that it was the right thing to do for the tax-paying citizens of this country, and Senator McCain- President Obama's former opponent agreed. Senator McCain stated to President Obama, "The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. It sometimes causes us difficulties at home and abroad. It is sometimes used by our enemies to haunt us. But the American people have the right to know it, nonetheless" (6).
     Now whether or not you are for or against the CIA using these methods on suspected terrorists, it is important to remember that they are doing everything in their power to protect us from foreign and domestic enemies. It's just like how Kim Possible is protecting her beloved friend, Ron Stoppable and his naked mole rat, Rufus. She did everything in her power to protect them, to let no harm get near them and luckily she achieved that goal through many horrific circumstances. No matter what attack, the CIA is ready and in full effect to protect us, no matter the lengths they have to endure.


1. Ross, B. & Esposito, R. (2005, November 18). CIA's harsh interrogation techniques described. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/
2. U.S. Senate. (2008). Coercive interrogation techniques: do they work, are they reliable, and what did the FBI know about them?. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office
3. Singh, A. (2013). Globalizing torture. New York, NY: Open Society Foundations
4. Goldman, A. & Craighill, P. (2014, December 16). New poll finds majority of americans think torture was justified after 9/11 attacks. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/
5. Jackson, D. (2014, December 9). Obama condemns past interrogation techniques. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/
6. McCain, J. (2014, December). Floor statement by senator john mccain on senate intelligence committee report on CIA interrogation methods. Retrieved from http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2014/12/floor-statement-by-sen-mccain-on-senate-intellegence-committee-report-on-cia-interrogation-methods