The bill would have banned the CIA from subjecting enemy detainees to interrogation methods denounced by critics as torture.
White House press secretary Dana Perino hailed the vote.
"The CIA program has produced critical intelligence and helped us prevent a number of attacks," Perino said. "An override of the president's veto would have diminished the intelligence community's ability to protect our nation."
Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who was tortured while a prisoner in the Vietnam war and is now his party's presumptive presidential nominee, opposed the bill.
"I think that waterboarding is torture and illegal, but I will not restrict the CIA to only the Army Field Manual," McCain said last month.
Harsh interrogation techniques were used in three known cases, one of which was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and his capture came after authorities obtained information from Muhammed Abdel Rahman, a son of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, that was reportedly linked to finally arresting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
There was also speculation that Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who was arrested in Pakistan last year, had given information about Mohammed under interrogation. The two had been in hiding together in Karachi.
In a speech President Bush gave in September of 2006, we got a glimpse into the information that was obtained by alternative interrogation techniques, some of which would have been banned in this bill that Bush vetoed and that Congress failed to overturn.
Within months of September the 11th, 2001, we captured a man known as Abu Zubaydah. We believe that Zubaydah was a senior terrorist leader and a trusted associate of Osama bin Laden. Our intelligence community believes he had run a terrorist camp in Afghanistan where some of the 9/11 hijackers trained, and that he helped smuggle al Qaeda leaders out of Afghanistan after coalition forces arrived to liberate that country. Zubaydah was severely wounded during the firefight that brought him into custody -- and he survived only because of the medical care arranged by the CIA.America does not want to hold to a standard that includes torture, but neither do we want to rule out any means to obtain information that will stop another attack on U.S. soil.
After he recovered, Zubaydah was defiant and evasive. He declared his hatred of America. During questioning, he at first disclosed what he thought was nominal information -- and then stopped all cooperation. Well, in fact, the "nominal" information he gave us turned out to be quite important. For example, Zubaydah disclosed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- or KSM -- was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and used the alias "Muktar." This was a vital piece of the puzzle that helped our intelligence community pursue KSM. Abu Zubaydah also provided information that helped stop a terrorist attack being planned for inside the United States -- an attack about which we had no previous information. Zubaydah told us that al Qaeda operatives were planning to launch an attack in the U.S., and provided physical descriptions of the operatives and information on their general location. Based on the information he provided, the operatives were detained -- one while traveling to the United States.
We knew that Zubaydah had more information that could save innocent lives, but he stopped talking. As his questioning proceeded, it became clear that he had received training on how to resist interrogation. And so the CIA used an alternative set of procedures. These procedures were designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our Constitution, and our treaty obligations. The Department of Justice reviewed the authorized methods extensively and determined them to be lawful. I cannot describe the specific methods used -- I think you understand why -- if I did, it would help the terrorists learn how to resist questioning, and to keep information from us that we need to prevent new attacks on our country. But I can say the procedures were tough, and they were safe, and lawful, and necessary.
Zubaydah was questioned using these procedures, and soon he began to provide information on key al Qaeda operatives, including information that helped us find and capture more of those responsible for the attacks on September the 11th. For example, Zubaydah identified one of KSM's accomplices in the 9/11 attacks -- a terrorist named Ramzi bin al Shibh. The information Zubaydah provided helped lead to the capture of bin al Shibh. And together these two terrorists provided information that helped in the planning and execution of the operation that captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Once in our custody, KSM was questioned by the CIA using these procedures, and he soon provided information that helped us stop another planned attack on the United States. During questioning, KSM told us about another al Qaeda operative he knew was in CIA custody -- a terrorist named Majid Khan. KSM revealed that Khan had been told to deliver $50,000 to individuals working for a suspected terrorist leader named Hambali, the leader of al Qaeda's Southeast Asian affiliate known as "J-I". CIA officers confronted Khan with this information. Khan confirmed that the money had been delivered to an operative named Zubair, and provided both a physical description and contact number for this operative.
Based on that information, Zubair was captured in June of 2003, and he soon provided information that helped lead to the capture of Hambali. After Hambali's arrest, KSM was questioned again. He identified Hambali's brother as the leader of a "J-I" cell, and Hambali's conduit for communications with al Qaeda. Hambali's brother was soon captured in Pakistan, and, in turn, led us to a cell of 17 Southeast Asian "J-I" operatives. When confronted with the news that his terror cell had been broken up, Hambali admitted that the operatives were being groomed at KSM's request for attacks inside the United States -- probably [sic] using airplanes.
During questioning, KSM also provided many details of other plots to kill innocent Americans. For example, he described the design of planned attacks on buildings inside the United States, and how operatives were directed to carry them out. He told us the operatives had been instructed to ensure that the explosives went off at a point that was high enough to prevent the people trapped above from escaping out the windows.
KSM also provided vital information on al Qaeda's efforts to obtain biological weapons. During questioning, KSM admitted that he had met three individuals involved in al Qaeda's efforts to produce anthrax, a deadly biological agent -- and he identified one of the individuals as a terrorist named Yazid. KSM apparently believed we already had this information, because Yazid had been captured and taken into foreign custody before KSM's arrest. In fact, we did not know about Yazid's role in al Qaeda's anthrax program. Information from Yazid then helped lead to the capture of his two principal assistants in the anthrax program. Without the information provided by KSM and Yazid, we might not have uncovered this al Qaeda biological weapons program, or stopped this al Qaeda cell from developing anthrax for attacks against the United States.
These are some of the plots that have been stopped because of the information of this vital program. Terrorists held in CIA custody have also provided information that helped stop a planned strike on U.S. Marines at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti -- they were going to use an explosive laden water tanker. They helped stop a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi using car bombs and motorcycle bombs, and they helped stop a plot to hijack passenger planes and fly them into Heathrow or the Canary Wharf in London.
We're getting vital information necessary to do our jobs, and that's to protect the American people and our allies.
It is a fine line to walk, but as long as there are terrorists out there that will do everything in their power to kill as many innocent Americans as they can in horrible terrorist attacks upon our country, we must at least have the means available to obtain critical information.
Secondly, this bill that was passed and vetoed and that Congress failed to overturn the veto of, was also riddled with pork barrel projects like a National Drug Intelligence Center and a study of the national security implications of global warming, none of which have anything to do with "Intelligence" and this is supposed to be the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008.
So instead of getting their job done and passing the Senates bipartisan FISA bill, they are too busy trying to get their pork filled projects funded using this intelligence bill, proving once again exactly how corrupt and incapable they are of keeping America safe....they don't even try to pretend anymore that National Security is important to them because their actions speak far louder than their empty words.
[Update]- Via email: House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) issued the following statement today after the House of Representatives voted to sustain President Bush's veto of an ill-conceived intelligence bill that focused more on the study of global warming than the surveillance of foreign terrorists:
"The president did the right thing by rejecting this poorly conceived legislation, and this evening the House concurred with this assessment. For Democrats who believe that today's vote was the product of a single defect in the bill, they're right: The legislation failed to meet even the most basic security needs of our nation.
"For a bill that was ostensibly intended to give our intelligence community the authority and resources it needs to operate, Democrats again failed to adequately fund the needs of our intelligence officers and their intelligence collection efforts. In its place, though, the majority does divert intelligence spending to study the man-made effects of global warming.
"This majority has made clear where their priorities lie -- and it isn't with the millions of Americans demanding of their government a secure homeland. The time spent on this preordained veto override could have been used to pass a FISA bill that can become law tonight if the Speaker just let us have a vote."
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