Torture: The Result Of Donald Rumsfeld’s Parochialism

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) asked a good question. If the Pentagon was, as Shiffrin testified, so frustrated over not having an off-the-shelf interrogation capability for the war on terror, why go to SERE and not the FBI? The bureau has “probably the most extensive experience in interrogating hostile detainees of anyone in the federal government.” True indeed.

Shiffrin’s answer? Because Donald Rumsfeld, despite being the oldest secretary of defense in history, is a giant baby. “In my limited dealings with the secretary,” Shiffrin said, “the secretary was very jealous other agencies, specifically with respect to DOD’s inherent capabilities. One incident [I recall]: the CIA’s ability to get things done in Afghanistan, the secretary was quite upset that the CIA was more effective in Afghanistan than we were at the onset of hostilities… It would have been unthinkable to say to him, ‘The people who are really good at this are law enforcement…’ I don’t think he would have accepted that answer.”

Can you make a citizen’s arrest for war crimes charges?