Report: FBI Slow in Reporting Detainee Abuse
By Carrie Johnson Washington Post Staff Writer
FBI officials should have moved more quickly to sound alarms about abusive interrogation practices its agents witnessed in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report by an agency watchdog released this morning.
The lengthy study by the Justice Department’s inspector general clears the FBI of engaging in coercive questioning of terrorism suspects, concluding that “the vast majority of FBI agents deployed in the military zones” adhered to bureau policies and balked at more aggressive tactics used by Defense Department and CIA employees and contractors.
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine faulted bureau leaders, however, for waiting until May 2004 — a month after abuses at the Guantanamo Bay military prison became public and nearly three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — to issue a policy making clear that FBI workers were obliged to report abuse or mistreatment of detainees even if it fell short of criminal violations. The FBI was “too slow to provide guidance,” Fine’s report said.
“The FBI could have provided clearer guidance earlier and pressed harder its concerns about detainee abuse by other agencies,” Fine said. “But we believe the FBI should be credited for its conduct and professionalism in detainee interrogations in the military zones and in generally avoiding participation in detainee abuse.”
Interrogation practices — including the use of dogs, sleep deprivation and simulated drowning or waterboarding — repeatedly created friction between FBI agents and military leaders. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III has stressed that the bureau prefers to build rapport with detainees as the most effective way of eliciting accurate information from them.
In congressional testimony last month, Mueller hinted that the FBI’s hands were tied in part by opinions from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which approved several of the coercive interrogation strategies.
More than 300 FBI agents who served in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq or Afghanistan told the inspector general they had observed or heard about questionable interview tactics by other government workers. But bureau employees apparently were confused about how to draw the line between behavior that was “abusive” or merely harsh, such as the use of loud music and stripping.
“The FBI will continue to provide comprehensive training and pre-deployment preparation to our agents and other employees who may be assigned to military zones,” Mueller said. “These individuals perform a vital function in dangerous environments in order to fulfill the FBI’s post-9/11 mission to develop intelligence and prevent terrorist attacks.”
The report was delayed for months because of alleged foot dragging in declassification by the Defense Department. Portions of the 370-page study remain subject to redactions for national security reasons.
May 20th, 2008 | Category: "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques", Abuse, Bush Lies, Detainee, Detainee Abuse, Detainee Treatment Act, F.B.I.
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