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The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
Torture and Big Money |
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August 9th,
2006 - Witness: Passaro was ‘Full of Rage’ |
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Witness: Passaro was ‘Full
of Rage’ By Estes Thompson Associated Press August 9, 2006 Raleigh - A former CIA
contract worker charged with beating an Afghan detainee who later died was
"full of rage" during the man's interrogation and later admitted
assaulting the prisoner, witnesses at the ex-contractor's trial said Tuesday. David Passaro is charged
with beating Abdul Wali over two days in June 2003 while questioning the man
about rocket attacks on a remote base housing U.S. and Afghan troops. He is
the first American civilian charged with mistreating a detainee during the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I saw Dave being very
aggressive with Abdul Wali, treating him with contempt," said Hyder
Akbar, the son of Kunar provincial governor Fazel Akbar. "He seemed
almost enlarged by anger. He seemed full of rage at this point." The younger Akbar, now a
student at Yale University, said Wali insisted he was innocent of the rocket
attacks. He accompanied Wali to the American base after his father persuaded
the man to try to clear his name, but four days later, Akbar received a call
from Passaro asking him to return and pick up his body. "I feel personally
responsible in that he trusted me that he would be OK at the American
base," Akbar said. Four CIA employees who
testified earlier in the day did so in disguise and under assumed names. U.S.
District Judge Terrence Boyle did not say what had been done to alter the
witnesses' appearance, but all three had full hair, thick mustaches and
glasses. The judge ordered a courtroom sketch artist not to draw their faces. A CIA contractor using the
pseudonym Randy Wilson said Passaro admitted hitting Wali and kicking him in
the groin. Prosecutors have charged Passaro with two counts of assault with a
dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in serious injury. If
convicted, the 40-year-old from Lillington faces up to 40 years in prison. "He said he thought
Wali was going after someone, one of the other persons present during one of
the interviews," Wilson said. Defense attorneys say the
former Special Forces medic never hit Wali, and gave him mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation on the day he died. A career CIA agent and
another agency contract worker testified Tuesday that CIA contractors hired
to work in places like Afghanistan were not trained in interrogation techniques
and were not given special rules allowing them to beat detainees. Under questioning by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Pat Sullivan, a 16-year employee of the CIA using the
pseudonym Gary Wagner said he approved the training received by contract
employees, and that all interrogations were conducted by career CIA agents. "Did the training
include anything about special rules to beat prisoners?" Sullivan asked. "Absolutely not,"
Wagner said. During opening statements
Monday, Sullivan said Passaro told soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne
Division who witnessed Wali's interrogation that they couldn't touch
detainees, but that special rules allowed him to do so. A third CIA employee, using
the pseudonym Randy Miller, said he and Passaro were in the same December
2002 training class for contractors. The retired Army Special Operations
Command solider said the training included marksmanship, off-road driving,
surveillance and detecting surveillance and security, but nothing about
interrogating prisoners or physically assaulting detainees. Marilyn Dorn, a CIA officer
who helps decide if documents should be secret, told the court Tuesday a
December 2002 memo to agency employees in Afghanistan about how to treat
detainees was authentic. "When CIA officers are
involved in interrogation of detainee, the conduct of such interrogation
should not encompass any significant physiological aspects (e.g. direct
physical contact, unusual mental duress, unusual physical restraints or
deliberate environmental deprivation) beyond those reasonably required to
ensure the safety and security of our officers and to prevent the escape of
the detainee - without prior and specific headquarters guidance," the
memo read. The government is
prosecuting Passaro under a provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows
charges against U.S. citizens for crimes committed on land or facilities
designated for use by the U.S. government. External link: http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/top_stories/statewide_news/?SecID=332&ArID=124927 |