Senior officials in the Obama administration said intelligence gained from interrogations at the U.S. base was directly responsible for helping security forces track down and kill Bin Laden.
The claim will fuel the international row about the Guantanamo camp – one of the most controversial legacies of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. – and whether torture can ever be justified.
Hundreds of suspects rounded up in Afghanistan and Pakistan were subjected to techniques such as water-boarding, sleep deprivation, white noise and stress positions at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba.
Human rights groups claim the techniques amounted to torture, and that many of the detainees had no link to terrorism.
But U.S. officials said interrogations had produced crucial information about a trusted courier who provided support to Bin Laden after he fled Afghanistan.
A senior source said detainees had provided the courier’s nickname and indicated he could be living with Bin Laden – although it took years to track down his true identity and location.
The official said: ‘Detainees flagged for us individuals who may have been providing direct support to Bin Laden and his deputy after their escape from Afghanistan. One courier in particular had our constant attention.’
Documents released by the Wikileaks organisation appear to confirm that detainees provided information about a courier operating out of the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, where Bin Laden was eventually tracked down – although it is unclear whether the individual involved is the one who eventually led U.S. intelligence to the lair of the terrorist mastermind. Mike Blakemore, of the human rights group Amnesty International, last night said torture could not be justified in any circumstances.
‘Torture is repugnant, immoral and illegal,’ he said. ‘It’s never justifiable and no one should be trying to use tracking down Osama Bin Laden or anything else to try to say torture is acceptable. Whatever is claimed, it is also hopelessly unreliable as a source of information – someone being tortured will say anything to try to make their suffering stop.’
Former U.S. President George W Bush has claimed water-boarding – a kind of simulated drowning – has saved British lives and ‘helped break up plots’ to attack Heathrow and Canary Wharf.
But the British Government, which regards water-boarding as torture, has called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay camp for years.
David Cameron has said that the use of torture and the detention of suspects without trial could be counter-productive and act as a recruiting sergeant for Al Qaeda. In the past Mr Cameron has said that if ‘you’re getting information from torture, it’s very likely to be unreliable information’.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has said Britain and America need to be seen to ‘stand up’ for their values if they want to maintain their security over the long term.
Last November, the British Government made secret payouts to 16 former detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in an attempt to settle claims of British complicity in torture. Detainees are believed to have received up to £1million each. The deal followed claims that the Government knew they were being illegally transferred to Guantanamo Bay but failed to prevent it.
There were also claims that British security and intelligence officials colluded in their torture and abuse while they were held abroad, and that UK agents witnessed mistreatment.
President picked up where Bush left off
Aggressive tactics credited with crucial role
Every part of the Osama operation was opposed by the Obama administration. From the interrogation that gave him up to the attack itself. Obama is for closing Guantanamo . Obama was for capture not kill. Obama's regime prosecuted Seals for giving a terrorist a fat lip but now it's okay to kill them. Obama hates the military and yet he is using a secret mission to invade Pakistan and kill Osama. Is anything here that sounds like Obama the Senator or Presidential candidate? Bush was right.
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