The Dark Side, Part 6 of 6

In the sixth and final section of The Dark Side, Jane Mayer critically reviews the actions taken by the Bush Administration following the events on September 11th. She begins by questioning the morals of the administration and the major players in the administration. She refers mainly to the inhumane treatment of prisoners in black sites and detention camps around the world. She says, "Just because you think you can do these things, it doesn't mean you should. There's a gap between what's right, and what's legal" (Mayer 310). In defense, the Bush Administration enacted certain policies only to improve the welfare of the country. Such atrocious acts would not be committed if they could not be justified; the United States sought to obtain valuable intelligence about terrorists abroad. Mayer cites Jay Rockefeller, the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as having said, "I have heard nothing to suggest that information obtained from enhanced interrogation techniques has prevented an imminent terrorist attack, And I have herd nothing that makes me think the information obtained from these techniques could not have been obtained though traditional interrogation methods" (Mayer 330). She does, however, concede that the extreme measures taken by the administration are understandable seeing as the weeks following 9/11 were frantic, but she then goes on to reprimand the administration for continuing its policies for seven years after the event.

"The Bush Administration invoked fear flowing from the attacks on September 11 to institute a policy of deliberate cruelty that would have been unthinkable on September 10." (Mayer 328). Mayer vehemently criticizes the Bush administration for the policies it instituted saying that the administration played off of and injected fear into the minds of the American people. It was this that allowed the many legal follies to go unnoticed during Bush's years as president. Angrily, Mayer goes on to refute one of Bush's most prideful statements, that there hasn't been a terrorist attack on US soil since September 11th. Mayer argues that, while Bush would like to believe it is his success as president that has caused this to occur, it could simply be that there has been an absence of terrorist threats. Finally, Mayer takes a swing at the Terrorist Surveillance Program which, according to a former official of the NSA, "has produced nothing" (Mayer 333). The narrative concludes with the final thought that while the Bush Administration may have meant well in trying to protect America, its expansion of presidential powers, its inhumane treatment of 'terrorists,' and its curbing of civil liberties were inexcusable. Most of all, though, the mistake between CIA officials in not communicating with the FBI about terror suspects that would later be involved in 9/11...was the biggest blunder of all.

The Dark Side, Part 5 of 6

In the fifth section of The Dark Side, Jane Mayer depicts a chilling image of the treatment of detainees in CIA black sites, off-US soil prisons where "enemy combatants" were detained. Khalid Seikh Mohammed was one of the several hundred "enemy combatants" to make a trip to a CIA black site. While at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, Mohammed went through torturous interrogations. While the President once said in a 2005 press meeting, "This country does not believe in torture," what occurred in Gitmo could not be defined otherwise...at least not by any sensible person. Lawyers working for Bush's administration had made "enhanced interrogations" legal where torture was essentially anything, but death. Upon Mohammed's arrival, he requested a lawyer, but was not given one. CIA officials believed that it was imperative that he not be given a lawyer. Mayer writes, "According to Tenet, Mohammed told his captors that he wouldn't talk until he was given a lawyer. 'Had that happened, I am confident that we would have obtained none of the information he had in his about imminent threats against the American people" (Mayer 271). Had he been given a lawyer, the "enhanced interrogations" would not have taken place and they would not have obtained the information they sought. During these interrogations, he was coerced into giving up information. He would have to tell them something. In some cases, "He wanted the interrogators to stop, he said, so he told them whatever they seemed to want to hear" (Mayer 277). Mohammed is a prime example of those who went through "enhanced interrogations."

Officials at black sites and detention camps put prisoners through many different forms interrogation all for the sake of obtaining information that may have been helpful to the cause of upholding national security. Among the many things prisoners went through included cavity searches which were used to "absolutely strip the detainee of any dignity...a process not just of getting information, but of utterly subordinating the detainee through humiliation" (Mayer 272). Among other form of interrogation were blasting loud noises into prisoners ears for days on end and having them sit in certain position, shackled to the wall. As long as death or the loss of organs wasn't involved, the detainees could legally go through out. After all, not only were they not on US soil, but they weren't even being 'tortured.' Khaled el-Masri was another detainee that went through the tortures of these black sites. During his first night in a black site, an English-speaking man, while interrogating him said, "You're in a country where no one knows about you. There's no rule of law. If you die, you will be buried here. No one will ever know" (Mayer 284). These must have been freightning words to hear. He could do nothing about it either. Detainees went through hell and they couldn't do anything to stop it.

The Dark Side, Part 4 of 6

In the fourth section of The Dark Side, Jane Mayer writes about the steps the executive branch took to authorize previously illegal practices such as the torture of detainees. Immediately following the September 11th attacks, Cheney, who had always been a proponent of expanding presidential powers, saw an opportunity to strengthen the executive branch and curb. Civil liberties were also curbed. While the Bush Administration was able to expand its powers, the way in which it was done was rather devious. The administration hired lawyers that intentionally misinterpreted law or formed certain laws to fit what they were looking for. In many cases, programs such as the Terrorist Surveillance Program rested on "flimsy legal opinions that they guarded closely so that no one could question the legal basis for the operations" (269). In fact, When an NSA lawyer attempted to examine the legal analysis on which the TSP rested upon, Addington, Cheney's chief of staff, sharply said, "The president decides who sees what, not you!" (Mayer 268). The White House could now spy on individuals. After all, the TSP was operating on a legal basis. The rights of individuals were effectively curbed. The reason in which the TSP was implemented was to prevent threats to national security from the inside of the United States. The White House was determined to keep the nation safe...even if it meant using conniving means to do so.

After 9/11, the Bush Administration wanted to make sure there would be no attacks on US soil. After the large blunder the CIA made in the failure to pass on information on terror suspects, the executive branch took the leisure of obtaining their own intelligence. Those in the white house, namely Attorney General Anthony Gonzales and VP Dick Cheney, sought to gain valuable information from terrorists. To do this, however, individuals would have to be forced from foreign lands which, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, was illegal. Gonzales said, "I don't see how terrorists who violate the laws of war can get the protections of the laws of war" ( 264). The two wouldn't accept no for an answer. Utilizing their expert team of lawyers, particularly two men by the names of John Yoo and Jack Goldsmith, the executive branch crafted laws in which terrorists could be taken off of foreign soil. Terrorists in foreign lands were defined as "enemy combatants" and could therefore be forced off of their land for interrogation. As for the interrogations themselves, torture was not allowed. Yoo came up with what were referred to as "enhanced interrogations" in which torture was defined as inflicting severe medical pain, the loss of organs, or death (Mayer 278). Goldsmith replaced Yoo when the administration was no longer satisfied with Yoo's performance. What Goldsmith did was what he didn't do; he disregarded his morals, although he was a man of morals, and allowed the laws to exist even though he knew they were unsubstantiated.