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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 9th, 2006 - CIA Questioner
Was Enraged, Witness Says |
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CIA Questioner Was Enraged,
Witness Says By Estes Thompson The Associated Press Wednesday, August 9, 2006; 2:47 PM Raleigh, N.C. - An ex-CIA
contractor on trial for allegedly beating an Afghan detainee had
enthusiastically volunteered to interrogate the man about rocket attacks on a
remote base housing U.S. and Afghan troops, the top CIA officer at the base
testified Wednesday. David Passaro is charged
with beating Abdul Wali during two days of questioning in June 2003 at the
base in Asadabad, Afghanistan. He is the first American civilian charged with
mistreating a detainee during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The CIA officer, who said he
was in charge of CIA operations at Asadabad, testified in disguise and using
the pseudonym Steve Jones. He said Passaro asked to take over Wali's
questioning after an initial interrogation produced no information, and that
he allowed Passaro to continue his questioning until learning Wali was
"not doing well. He was down in his cell and he was groaning.'" Wali died later that day.
According to Jones, Passaro said he had knocked the prisoner down once during
his two days of questioning and that Wali had been caught with a makeshift
key trying to open his shackles. "He mentioned to me
that he had to defend himself," Jones said. "He said Wali had
attempted to lunge at him and he had to knock him down." Earlier Wednesday, a retired
Army Special Forces soldier testified that Passaro had become enraged when
Wali wasn't able to answer questions about the rocket attacks, but said he
never saw Passaro strike the prisoner. "It became clear he
(Wali) was not going to be a font of information," said retired Chief
Warrant Officer Brian Halstead. "Dave starts getting mad, real mad. Dave
starts hollering. Dave is screaming at this guy. ... Red in the face, spit
flying, finger-poking. He was going off." Halstead, who said he was in
charge of planning operations in Afghanistan's Kunar province at the time,
said he was in the room with Passaro and Wali as Hyder Akbar, the son of
provincial governor Fazel Akbar, tried to translate. Halstead's account of Wali's
interrogation matched that of the younger Akbar, who testified Tuesday that
Passaro was "full of rage" during questioning. Hyder Akbar said he
accompanied Wali to the American base. Four days later, he said, he received
a call from Passaro asking him to return and pick up the man's body. Akbar, now a student at Yale
University, said Wali insisted he was innocent of the rocket attacks. Prosecutors have charged
Passaro, 40, with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two
counts of assault resulting in serious injury. If convicted, he could face up
to 40 years in prison. Passaro is standing trial in
his home state under a provision of the USA Patriot Act allowing charges
against U.S. citizens for crimes committed on land or facilities designated
for use by the U.S. government. © 2006 The Associated Press External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901098.html |