Quick takes // by Ben FrankelThe killing of OBL: from enhanced interrogations to presidential speech writing
Four quick points: first, there is little doubt that the information obtained by U.S. intelligence about the people in the different circles surrounding Osama bin Laden — information that finally allowed the United States to follow the route of one of OBL’s couriers all the way to OBL’s hideout — was obtained without reading the Miranda right to those interrogated and without advising them of their right to remain silent; second, was the invasion of Iraq a diversion from the hunt for OBL? Third, the war against terrorism is not a war over territory and assets; it is a war over symbols, psychology, perception, and public opinion; killing bin Laden from the air by bombing his compound would have achieved the same physical results, but not the same psychological results; fourth, on the prose and poetry of leadership
Here are four quick comments on the killing of Osama bin Laden:
1. Enhanced interrogations
The debate over what is called “enhanced interrogations” – water boarding and other forms of applying physical and psychological pressures to enemy combatants during interrogations – is a serious debate, and honest and patriotic men and women may hold different views. Both views have merit.
The reality is that there is little doubt that the information obtained by U.S. intelligence about the people in the different circles surrounding Osama bin Laden (OBL) – information that finally allowed the United States to follow the route of one of OBL’s couriers all the way to OBL’s hideout – was obtained without reading the Miranda right to those interrogated and without advising them of their right to remain silent.
There is also little doubt that some of the information was obtained by the security services of allies of the United States – Egypt and Jordan – where some of the detainees were shipped. They were shipped to those countries so that the intelligence services there could apply – how shall we put it: “extra enhanced enhanced interrogation” – to get information out of them.
In those countries they not only routinely use these interrogation methods – there is also no debate about whether or not such methods should be used.
Fighting terrorism is a demanding endeavor, and it cannot be fought according to the Marquis of Queensberry rules. The mark of a humane and enlightened society is not that it never use dastardly means to protect itself – but, rather, that it minimizes the use of these means to the absolute minimum necessary. Adhering to humane and liberal values is not a suicide pact, and liberal and humane societies have to survive.
A note to the countless anonymous CIA and military interrogators – and, uncomfortable is it may be to say so — to their counterparts in Egypt and Jordan: Thank you.
2. The Iraq diversion
The success of the U.S. intelligence effort in Pakistan should lead us to reflect on the diversion that the Iraq War was. At the height of the war against al Qaeda and its affiliates, the United States took its eye off the ball and invaded Iraq – a country that had no connection to terrorism and that proved to have no weapons of mass destruction or plans to re-produce them.
Military and intelligence people complained at the time of the 2003 invasion –
