If in your daily activities, any of you have run across or know of recent info on continuing torture, assassination activities, programs, etc., would appreciate a word about it. Especially if still connected with School of the Americas, now in Georgia - other than that $1.2 billion part of our Drug Czar's Mil/Indus Welfare Program down in Colombia, Bolivia, etc.
Advised to keep eyes everywhere, though, for we now have the 42nd national security institution established in America: headed by another Czar, for Homeland Defense. And there is talk of preventing Americans from being tortured with more fears by our torturing anyone suspected of misplaced or silent type rectitude (no flag outside your door or on your car - or maybe, soon, missing Church services or not living in an approved or gated community),
....moving our great experience setting up international interrogation and torture centers over to the domestic war front against dissidents: thereby helping iconoclasts reform by regurgitating any hidden truths of possibly use to further terrorize an already fearful America.
This latest institution for the Defense of America is logically titled, seeing as our old War Department was, post-W.W. II, mistakenly re-titled the "Department of Defense" - so it could speed up offensive overseas operations without raising unwanted PR semantics about long-term raison d'etre.
Stayed tuned, for now that the Supermisimo-Macho Taliban have moved from the cities to the countryside and mountains, our Military Intel people can expect to begin a great SEARCH to locate these new enemies of ours. Just as with the Viet Cong devils, as they fled massive bombardments and village fire-bombings to hide out for another day. So, too, here, once the guerilla war starts in earnest the interrogators and torturers will begin again. This time, though, with our advisers being sure not to stay within 100 meters of the screaming, of course. That's been our fall-back position since the Vietnam revelations, and it's called 'Plausible Deniability'.
Finally, I don't think we'll approve FBI torturing as much as some would like to. Domestically it is difficult to keep screams and moans 100 meters away from everyone who likes discussing new conspiracies and topics worthy of plain paranoia-based gossip.
richard
PS: Don't forget your flag!! You don't want the kids' school principal visited by the FBI or minions from our new 42nd security institution defending US; nor for anyone to pass along to the newest Czar rumors suspecting your children's loyalty, or their parents' reticence and rectitude.
As a former CIA Plans and Operations Officer in Vietnam (1967-68) in charge of a province, I saw and know of the Provincial Interrogation Centers, and other smaller ad hoc facilities, we organized throughout all of Vietnam (in lesser numbers in Laos and Cambodia): where we supplied, trained and guided Vietnamese soldiers, police and intelligence forces working for US to use various levels of intimidation, torture, and murder. Programs designed to obtain information, or simply punish people, who were most often civilians merely suspected of VC involvement or sympathies, or having such family connections, or suspected of other 'disloyalties'.
As a result of much post Vietnam study, travel and conversations with relevant people, I also know that such programs were continued in other countries, especially Iran, Israel, most of Central America and a number of countries in South America, particularly Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia. But I have not closely followed the development of this policy in the last ten years or so.
My question: Is America, itself or through surrogates, still teaching, financing or supplying, or otherwise supporting, such or similar polices in recent years?
richard manning
Antibes, France
PS - Important to note: I have the honor of being one of a very few CIA men who continuously spoke up in any way against, objected to and reported on actions resulting from this policy - and the fabrications and cover-ups built into it to prevent exposure - in my official capacity in charge of a province in Vietnam. Plus have the additional distinction of being, as far as I know, perhaps the only officer who was, after repeated warnings and threats, finally forced out of Vietnam, and the Agency: for refusing to stop "making waves" and refusing to "get with the program".
It is worth additionally noting that I arrived in Vietnam as a typical patriot, a loyal John Wayne Jesus Christ American, proudly working for the elite within my government - there to prevent the Vietnamese from falling as Russian and Chinese dominos. After awakening to the in-country reality, I conducted myself as an American working for the people. Of course, I did not succeed.