Secrets, Politics and Torture is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2015.
It is an episode of the long-running program Frontline (season 33 episode 08).
The topic of this episode is the CIA’s controversial interrogation program known as Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT), which is (according to several observers) another word for torture.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Michael Kirk
** Writers: Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser
** Narrator: Will Lyman
** Run time: 54 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film. Some speak for the CIA and the government, while others speak against them. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):
** Peter Baker – journalist - New York Times
** Richard Clarke – National Security Council 1992-2003
** David Cole – professor of law – Georgetown University
** Dianne Feinstein – politician - Democrat – Senator – chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee 2009-2015
** Michael Isikoff – journalist - Newsweek 1994-2010
** John McLaughlin – Deputy Director of the CIA 2000-2004
** Joseph Margulies – Attorney for Aby Zubaydah
** Jane Mayer – journalist - The New Yorker – author of the book The Dark Side (2008)
** Mark Mazzetti – journalist - New York Times
** Greg Miller – journalist - Washington Post
** Dana Priest – journalist - Washington Post
** John Rizzo – CIA attorney 1976-2009
** Mark Rossini – FBI special agent 1991-2009
** Ali Soufan – FBI special agent 1997-2005
** Mark Udall – politician - Democrat – Senator – member of the Senate Intelligence Committee 2011-2015
** Philip Zelikow – White House Intelligence Advisor 2001-2003
Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the participants.
Archive footage allows us to meet several high-ranking politicians, including President George Bush who declares that he does not condone torture and that he has never ordered anybody to use torture.
This film focuses on three basic questions regarding the Enhanced Interrogation Technique:
# 1. Is it legal?
# 2. Is it effective?
# 3. Is it moral?
Members of the CIA and the government say yes to questions # 1 and # 2. They do not wish to talk about question # 3.
The critics say no to all three questions. According to them, the term Enhanced Interrogation Technique is simply a euphemism for torture.
What do reviewers say about this film?
Brian Lowry reviewed it in Variety (and Boston Herald) on 19 May 2015. It is a positive review. The film is described as “another top-notch documentary from Michael Kirk.”
The film was reviewed on the blog Human Rights First on 20 May 2015. It is also positive review.
On Amazon there are three global ratings, but one of them is misplaced. It is a review of another episode of Frontline. This means we are left with only two valid ratings. But both offer five stars.
I agree with the positive reviews. This episode of Frontline covers an important topic and it is covered very well.
Members of the CIA and the US government get a chance to speak. It is very interesting to listen to them. They try to justify American policy, but they are not convincing. Basically, they sink themselves.
The critics get a chance to speak. They have a strong case supported by solid evidence: declassified documents reveal the truth about what the CIA and the US army were doing with their prisoners.
If you are interested in the question of human rights - in particular the question of political prisoners - this episode of Frontline is definitely something for you. It is highly recommended.
PS # 1. The Torture Question is an episode of Frontline which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2005. This episode, which is directed by Michael Kirk, is about events in two American prisons outside the US:
(A) The detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
(B) The Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
PS # 2. The Report is a political and legal drama which premiered in 2019. It covers the same topic and the same basic questions as the 2015 episode of Frontline.
The main character is Senate Investigator Daniel Jones who is the leader of the team which produced the report about CIA torture which is still classified.
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
** Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib and the War on Terror by Mark Danner (2004)
** Abu Ghraib: The Politics of Torture with essays by Meron Benvenisti, Mark Danner, Barbara Ehrenreich, John Gray, Richard Grossinger, David Matlin, Charles Stein, David Levi Strauss and Brook Warner (2004)
** The Torture Debate in America edited by Karen J. Greenberg (2005)
** The Torture and Prisoner Abuse Debate by Laura L. Finley (2008)
** How the Gloves Came Off: Lawyers, Policy Makers, and Norms in the Debate on Torture by Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault (2017)
# 2. Films
** Secrecy (2008)
** Torture Made in USA (2009)
*****
The Dark Side
By Jane Mayer
(2008)
*****
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