Program Origins and Legal Framework

• Story begins 6 days after 9/11 when George W. Bush signs memo giving CIA free reign to secretly capture and detain suspected terrorists
• Problem: US prison detention would require following rules of war
  • Declaring prisoners of war status
  • Providing lawyer access and trial rights
  • Prohibiting torture
• CIA didn't want to follow these internationally agreed rules due to anger and revenge thirst
• Solution: Construct global network of secret prisons outside public, press, and legal oversight
• Government lawyers drafted memos arguing Al-Qaeda members were "unlawful enemy combatants"
  • Legal theory meant normal rules don't apply
  • Memos intended to remain secret

First Target: Abu Zubaida and Thailand Black Site

• First target: Palestinian citizen Abu Zubaida, believed top Al-Qaeda leader hiding in Pakistan
• March 2002: CIA and FBI capture him in Pakistan raid
  • Shot during raid, nearly died
  • CIA flew in doctor from top US hospital to treat wounds
  • Needed alive for intelligence extraction
• Transported to Thailand where CIA negotiated deal with Thai government
• Used old US military base - became "Detention Site Green"
• Plan: Extract information using "novel interrogation methods" (torture)
• CIA agents requested assurance Abu Zubaida would "remain in isolation and incommunicado for the remainder of his life"
• Remained in Thailand for 9 months under enhanced interrogation

Network Expansion and Flight Operations

• Thai government officials became uncomfortable with program
• Media started investigating, prompting Vice President Dick Cheney to convince American news outlet not to publish details
• CIA forced to leave Thailand after security concerns

Poland Black Site (Detention Site Blue)

• Flight records show Gulf Stream 4 booking: DC to Thailand to UAE
• Planted dummy flight records showing Austria and London destinations
• Actually flew to small airport in rural Poland
• CIA paid Polish intelligence agency $15 million cash (delivered in cardboard boxes)
• Used military prison in woods, 20 minutes from airport
• Continued abducting suspected terrorists with scrambled flight paths and fake records
• Operated for approximately 1 year before moving again

Romania and Morocco Operations

• September 2003: Moved prisoners from Poland via complex flight paths
• Romania: Negotiated access to government building basement
• Morocco: CIA paid $20 million to build prison codenamed "Bombay" (never used)
• Used Morocco's local prisons temporarily instead

Guantanamo Bay Black Sites

• Established two black sites at US Naval Base: Detention Site Maroon and Indigo
• Kept separate from military prison at Guantanamo Bay
• Limited information available - only mentioned once in footnote of Senate report

Global Network Scale and Operations

• By 2004: Captured approximately 100 prisoners
• Used 54 countries to traffic secret flights and cover tracks
• Included British territory Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean
• Total of 9 secret prisons (at minimum known)

Additional Black Site Locations

• Lithuania: CIA used shell company to purchase nondescript barn (former elite horse riding club) - "Detention Site Violet"
• Afghanistan: 4 secret prisons including "Dark Prison"
  • Prisoners held in metal shipping containers
  • Complete darkness and isolation
  • Loud music played to prevent sleep
• Jordan and Egypt: CIA worked with local intelligence officers
  • Local officers used torture with CIA agents guiding operations
• Floating prisons: Evidence CIA turned ships into black sites for interrogation

Program Statistics and Outcomes

• Total prisoners interrogated: 119 using black site network
• Released: 94 prisoners
  • Some sent to foreign custody
  • Some released outright
  • Some status unknown

Innocent Victims

• Maher Arar: Canadian-Syrian dual citizen
  • Taken at NYC airport en route to Canada
  • Transferred to Syria, tortured for 1 year
  • Wrong person - Canadian government paid $10 million compensation
• Gul Rahman: Died of hypothermia at Afghanistan black site
  • Chained naked to concrete floor
  • No CIA officers punished
• German citizen: Held 23 days in Macedonia hotel room
  • Flown to Afghanistan, imprisoned 4 months
  • Wrong person - released with meager apology and small payment

High-Value Targets

• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Considered 9/11 mastermind
• Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri: Charged with USS Cole bombing planning
• Hambali: Known as "Osama Bin Laden of Southeast Asia"

Torture Effectiveness and Intelligence Value

• CIA claimed enhanced interrogation provided useful intelligence
• Senate investigation evaluated case-by-case effectiveness
• Findings: "No relationship between information from torture and thwarting terrorist plots"
• Useful intelligence came from other sources or was already known
• CIA never conducted evaluation of technique effectiveness
• Conclusion: "CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques was not effective means of acquiring intelligence"

Specific Examples of Ineffectiveness

• 9/11 mastermind waterboarded hundreds of times
• Gave names of two men with no Al-Qaeda connections
• CIA wasted resources capturing innocent people
• Torture creates stress, impairs memory, encourages false information

Program Termination and Current Status

• Program eventually shut down
• Of 119 prisoners: 21 remain in US custody at Guantanamo Bay
• Only 3 have faced any form of trial or justice proceedings
• Evidence obtained through torture inadmissible in court

Strategic Consequences and Al-Qaeda's Success

• Program represented massive success for Al-Qaeda strategy
• Successfully provoked US to violate own norms and values
• Exposed US hypocrisy on human rights and rule of law
• Turned perpetrators into victims rather than symbols of terror
• High-value targets like USS Cole bomber granted victim status
• Poland ordered to pay €100,000 to torture victim
• Families of attack victims denied closure and justice
• CIA helped transform terrorists into symbols of American hypocrisy

Presidential Statements vs. Reality

• President Bush publicly stated: "United States does not torture, it's against our laws and values"
• Claimed no authorization for torture while program operated
• Washington Post first to report program details
• Former CIA counterterrorism chief went public about waterboarding techniques