CIA Interrogation Led to Arrest of Ohio al-Qaida Supporter
Iyman Faris, left, and Khalid Sheik Mohammed
The Columbus Dispatch disclosed that, “An internal CIA report made public yesterday says the agency’s heavily criticized interrogation techniques led to the 2003 arrest of a Columbus truck driver who pleaded guilty to providing assistance to al-Qaida.”
The 2004 CIA report asserts that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, provided information that “led to the investigation and prosecution” of Iyman Faris, a native of Pakistan who was living in Columbus, Ohio.
Faris is now serving a 20-year sentence after admitting he had scouted the Brooklyn Bridge in 2002 as a possible target of a terrorist attack.
The Dispatch quoted former Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, who said the captured terrorists “are ugly, nasty human beings who were bent on destroying us.
“So when people judge the techniques that were used, I think they have to put it in a proper perspective,” said DeWine, now a Republican candidate for Ohio attorney general. “As the inspector general report points out, information they received from these individuals saved lives. This was very valuable information that was received.”
According to the Dispatch, DeWine added that in the aftermath of 9-11, many analysts predicted additional attacks, including potential chemical assaults. But DeWine said that “just didn’t happen. We obtained information in many ways. Information is what intelligence is about and information prevents tragedies and lack of information causes tragedies.”
