Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

An interrogation professional vs. Cheney

We’ve been hearing from the League of Concerned Former CIA Directors recently, so I was interested to see in the new issue of Parameters, one of the Army’s professional magazines, an empassioned article by John Wahlquist supporting the Obama administration’s recent moves to curtail the American government’s use of torture. Wahlquist, a veteran interrogator who ...

573378_090923_Strappadob2.jpg
573378_090923_Strappadob2.jpg

We've been hearing from the League of Concerned Former CIA Directors recently, so I was interested to see in the new issue of Parameters, one of the Army's professional magazines, an empassioned article by John Wahlquist supporting the Obama administration's recent moves to curtail the American government's use of torture.

We’ve been hearing from the League of Concerned Former CIA Directors recently, so I was interested to see in the new issue of Parameters, one of the Army’s professional magazines, an empassioned article by John Wahlquist supporting the Obama administration’s recent moves to curtail the American government’s use of torture.

Wahlquist, a veteran interrogator who now teaches at the National Defense Intelligence College, writes that:

President Obama’s executive order on interrogation provides an excellent opportunity to end abusive practices and to propose a new agenda for intelligence interviewing that increases the capability to collect accurate information from enemy detainees effectively and humanely. Seizing this opportunity is essential to increasing the chances of success for counterterrorism operations worldwide and reducing risks to the lives of American service members and civilians, as well as detainees. Doing so enhances the broader national security agenda without sacrificing American values.

In other words, treating detainees decently improves our intelligence, makes us safer, and protects our system. ‘Nuff said.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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