Are you shocked by the CIA interrogation report?

Not shocked. Sad. Disgusted. And pretty resigned that this is who we have become.

For once I agree with John Kerry.

What the hell are you talking about?

I am listening to both sides on this debate. Both sides of of the argument are compelling.

I remember 9/11 and watched the second airliner being crashed into the World Trade Center. Burned in my brain are images of people who jumped rather than die in the flames. That was a hard choice to make.

These interrogation techniques were done to avert another attack and would likely have garnered wide public support but now with the passage of time sensitivities have changed.

If I could ask Diane Fienstein three questions I would want to know-

1. Why did you and your committee not do your jobs back then, where was the system of checks and balances?
2. Why have you and your committee been complicit in the increasing number of drone strikes in the Obama administration where high collateral damage does more to incite terrorists?
3. What analysis did you undertake to determine how many Americans you would put at risk by releasing this report and the loss of CIA asset support around the world which undermines national security.

Not only that, but for at least one of the detainees gave out all the information he had and still was tortured. Is that who we are?

I am not particularly shocked.. disgusted and ashamed of my country for stooping to that level but not shocked.
I think John McCain summed it up fairly well.
McCain speech

If that is your belief, then you cannot complain when our soldiers or hostages or contract workers get treated the same way by others under the umbrella of "obtaining intel".  This works both ways.

Unfortunately, I'm not shocked. I lived in NJ on 9/11, and worked at a hospital that was near enough to have received patients that day, had there been any. I saw the smoke for days, and lived in fear that something more might happen. I get the urge to torture those people that were responsible. The extent to which it went, however, IMHO, went too far. Thank you, apeacalledliz, for that link. For the first time ever, I agree with what John McCain said. We should be better than that.

I'm not shocked, I'm honestly not appalled either. We were at war with a group of people who are not bound by and do not observe Geneva convention, had we been in a traditional war I would have felt differently. I also fail to see how loud music, lights and sleep deprivation are torture. I am open to discussion on extreme interrogation vs other options.

What is more disconcerting to me is the complete lack of regard for national security by the President and Sen. Feinstein. This was a politically motivated move done at this time because Sen. F knew the report would never be released after she loses her position. But shame on our politicians for putting our citizens in more harms way in spite of every credible source telling them and pleading with them not to release it. Not just within our country but among our allies as well. I also have doubts as to the "bipartisan" findings on both sides, since there is also a minority report stating that useful information was gained and that there are inaccuracies in the report.

One of those inaccuracies is was regarding Zabaydah claiming he gave up all of his useful information to the FBI before he was interrogated by the CIA. But according to the minority report, he was already being subjected to extreme interrogation under the FBI.

Let's face it, the democrats will never put out anything that would remotely showcase any factual benefits from extreme interrogation, and to be fair the republicans would never put out anything that would show anything but that extreme interrogation worked. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, and to me if one good person's life was saved because we had to resort to extreme interrogation, then yes, it was worth it. Because none of the terrorist lives matter.

I'm sorry but this is just horrifying. Every human life has worth. And we as a nation must do better. We still must follow the Geneva convention or we are just as bad as the terrorists. It makes me so sad that citizens still feel this is okay. Even though it netted us nothing but showing how we break the rules at every turn. Makes me sick.

All anyone has too do is read the memoirs and/or biographies of U.S. citizens who have served in the military and were captured by our enemies, then tortured while they were POW's to understand why the United States of Amercia should NEVER ENGAGE IN TORTURE.


If you justify torture in the name of security you are no better than terrorists, and as others have said, you better not complain when our citizens who are prisoners get treated inhumanely.

I agree 100%

I'm actually very open to discussion and having my mind changed. It has happened in the past on a lot of different issues. So I would be interested in what you have to say. 

Am I torn yes, because while I know that I should care if a terrorist is tortured, I just am unable to muster any sympathy for them. I realize that that feeling is opposed to even my own religious views, but I have never felt an instance of remorse on hearing what was done in an effort to save lives. 

To me, these are not people, they are animals. To me its like this. I have my mom/dad/best friend standing next to a terrorist with a gun trained on the their head. The only way to stop the gun from killing my mom/dad/best friend is to press a button that allows the terrorist to undergo extreme interrogation. When there are only two options, I'm going to choose the life of my loved one. I'd press the button. I know that many see other options, I'm open to exploring other options as well, but if it comes down to a last resort. Interrogate. Ultimately it is our loved ones who will potentially pay the price for going easy on a terrorist. 

I still don't see nudity, loud music, lights etc as torture. I can be swayed on water boarding.