One of the most quotable phrases coming out of Bush’s
Global War on Terrorism now appears to be highly questionable. Then-CIA
lawyer Jonathan Fredman was quoted by Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, as having said that the standard of detainee
treatment during interrogations was “basically subject to perception. If the
detainee dies you’re doing it wrong.”
This quote continues to be used in articles and books,
but reporting by Stuart Taylor, Jr. (no relation) in the NationalJournal and by Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare sheds light on the
shaky ground on which it rests.
Keep reading: “If the detainee dies you’re doing it wrong.”
