Bush Administration Continues “Enhanced Interrogation” Despite Internal Opposition (2009)

During the War on Terror, the U.S. military and CIA captured many suspected terrorists who were thought to pose a serious threat to national security and to possess information that might prevent future attacks. However, the intelligence that led to their identification as terrorists would not have necessarily held up in a court of law, so many detainees were held indefinitely without charge or trial at locations like the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Additionally, the Bush Administration developed a set of so-called “enhanced interrogation” protocols to pressure detainees into revealing information about terrorist organizations. These tactics included sleep deprivation, “cramped confinement” in small spaces, forcing detainees to remain in uncomfortable “stress positions” for hours at a time, and the controlled drowning tactic that became known as “waterboarding,” As described in this clip from a 2008 documentary entitled Torturing Democracy, government officials registered complaints that these practices constituted torture, but the Bush Administration created legal rationale that allowed the practices to continue. Of the 789 detainees held at Guantanamo, 30 still remained in custody as of May 2023.

Bill Moyers Journal | Public Affairs Television & Doctoroff Media Group | May 29, 2009 This video clip and associated transcript appear from 32:03 - 39:17 in the full record.