Think Progress

Bush White House has its own interrogation room.

By Satyam on Aug 7th, 2008 at 7:21 pm

Bush White House has its own interrogation room.»

In Ron Suskind’s new book, Suskind describes a disturbing case in Washington, D.C., where security officials detained and interrogated Usman Khosa, a Pakistani U.S. college graduate, because he was “fiddling” with his iPod near White House gates. Officials took Khosa to an interrogation room “beneath” the White House:

wh3.jpgHe turns as a large uniformed man lunges at him. The backpack!” the man yells, pushing Usman against the Italianate gates in front of Treasury and ripping off his backpack. Another officer on a bicycle arrives from somewhere and tears the backpack open, dumping its contents on the sidewalk. […]

Usman is trundled from the SUV, escorted through the West Gate, and onto the manicured grounds. No one speaks as the agents walk him behind the gate’s security station, down a stairwell, along an underground passage, and into a room — cement-walled box with a table, two chairs, a hanging light with a bare bulb, and a mounted video camera. Even after all the astonishing turns of the past hour, Usman can’t quite believe there’s actually an interrogation room beneath the White House, dark and dank and horrific.

“Usman Khosa is a Pakistani national in his early twenties, a graduate of Connecticut College now working for the International Monetary Fund,” Suskind notes.




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57 Responses to “Bush White House has its own interrogation room.”

  1. DieNowForPeace Says:

    “Well hell, I mean, he looked like a terrrrrist, right?!!”


  2. Uncle Ho Says:

    Wilkommen to Fascist Amerika; The GESTAPO haff vays to make you talk, Ja?


  3. stateofthedivision Says:

    So that’s what happened to Pelosi and Reid.


  4. Oval12345678 aka James K. Sayre Says:

    The paranoid Bush crime family is very afraid of anyone and everyone that’s not a charter member of the Bush crime family,
    which would be about 99.999999% of the people of the world.


  5. Uncle Ho Says:

    I know I’m going off on a tangent here, but over at http://www.rawstory.com this morn, I read the article that the judge ruled in favor of “free speech zones” in Denver for the Democratic convention.

    As I drove home from work, I had NPR on and they were talking about how for the Olympics, China is having “free speech zones” for their dissenters.

    The schools I went to in the 1950s *60s taught me the ENTIRE USA IS A FREE SPEECH ZONE. WTF?

    USA = Communist China.
    Police states one and all.


  6. Zooey Says:

    Holy shit.

    It occurs to me that with the popularity of iPods, people must be walking by the WH all the time fiddling with them. Of course, they are probably the “right” kind of people…


  7. SP Biloxi Says:

    “Bush White House has its own interrogation room.” Geez, what else that Bush’s White House has? A secret basement where they keep Bin Laden? Obviously, we can’t seem to find this person. Can’t wait for these clowns in office to leave in 2009. It seems more and more each day we learn how corrupted the Sith Administration is.


  8. KayInMaine Says:

    You just know there are young boys being raped and tortured down in that cell too. With George Bush in the White House anything is possible at this point.


  9. livelongandprosper Says:

    That’s right Uncle Ho, and Bush waved his finger at China earlier today!!!!!!!!



  10. ljm Says:

    Ok I’m going to buy the book. Looks like there’s too much history recorded in this to pass it up. Scary for us all.


  11. burro Says:

    It’s where they keep the Gimp. And it’s where Cheney usually is when he’s not hiding in the bushes observing The Shrub. Cheney keeps his leather stuff and various prods down there. Those rolled up carpets coming out at midnight aren’t from remodeling.


  12. Tired of being lied to Says:

    Gad zooks, Robin, it sounds just like the Batcave!

    And Glenn Beck is soiling his pants in his excitement!


  13. PeaceMonkey Says:

    “…a room — cement-walled box with a table, two chairs, a hanging light with a bare bulb, and a mounted video camera.”

    The Missus Laura needs to find a new decorator! That’s what you get for not hiring teh gayz. Michelle will turn that room into the most kickin’ Elitist Wine Cellar since Jackie O reigned.


  14. flavorino Says:

    Bush White House has its own interrogation room.»

    And Cheney not to be outdone, has his own “MAN-SIZED SAFE“.


  15. PeaceMonkey Says:

    Imagine how many bodies are buried under those floorboards.


  16. flavorino Says:

    burro Says:

    Cheney keeps his leather stuff and various prods down there. Those rolled up carpets coming out at midnight aren’t from remodeling.

    Sounds like the stuff they had at Abu Ghraib.
    WTF has happened to this country?


  17. k Says:

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh! I wonder if Laura Bush decorated that room too!


  18. Krazny Says:

    So that is where Cheney goes to strangle puppies and drink their blood.


  19. stateofthedivision Says:

    Speaking of Laura, her husband heard Burmese refugees tell their stories. One poor woman thanked the President for enacting sanctions.

    Apparently she was unaware of the free pass Congress and the White House gave Chevron in their Burmese natural gas field. It provides millions to the brutal junta. What will the poor woman do when she finds out?

    http://peureport.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 08/ bush-dons-chevron-shield-for-burmese.html


  20. bogtrotters Says:

    Jesus. I don’t even think Beria did his interrogations in Comrade Stalin’s basement. These are sick, sick people.


  21. KayInMaine Says:

    I bet some of the $9 billion missing in Iraq is in that room.


  22. Crusty Old Bastard Says:

    What’s the big deal. All the Rethugs fiddle with their Ipods all over the Country, especially in men’s rooms. Even old George WTF has been caught fiddling with a Saudi King’s Ipod.


  23. Innocent Bystander Says:

    Great…they’ll now have to now also shred the WH on the way out the door. We’ve come a long way since the faux outrage of the Clinton’s ‘destroying’ the WH to the tune of $9,000.00 worth of normal wear and tear, 8 very long years ago.


  24. barfly Says:

    Usman can’t quite believe there’s actually an interrogation room beneath the White House, dark and dank and horrific.

    Sounds like Dick Cheney’s rumpus room. I think we’ve found his “secure location.”


  25. cmac Says:

    That’s what you get for fiddling with your iPod while swarthy…


  26. VerbalKint Says:

    KayInMaine Says:
    You just know there are young boys being raped and tortured down in that cell too.

    And you just know that the 23%ers would, if called upon, defend it.


  27. KayInMaine Says:

    Yes they would, VerbalKint.


  28. upside99 Says:

    flavorino Says:

    Sounds like the stuff they had at Abu Ghraib.
    WTF has happened to this country?

    NeoCons and BushCo happened to this country, and to the rest of the world, too.


  29. misshusseinmolly Says:

    Hmmm…fiddling with an iPod if your name is Usman and you are Pakistani. But if your name is — oh, say — Patrick, and you have blond hair and blue eyes, it’s OK.

    I wonder how many detainees in Gitmo are there for similar offenses?


  30. questioneverything Says:

    Cool–we won’t have to march the current residents too far. I’m assuming it’s big enough to hold some of those boxes they are using in Iraq to “segregate” the prisoners.


  31. Robt Says:

    Of course the Bush White House has its own torture room. They have had it since 2000. Its called the Oval Office…!

    You never thought the male prostitute that was always allowed into the White House under the guise of “reporter” was there to ease the Presidents pressures did you.

    Think about it, where did you think all the sex positions at Abu Graib came from. Who was the consulting contractor on how to abuse men?


  32. wizard2000 Says:

    In the Bush/Cheney White House, no one can hear you scream.


  33. MapleStreet Says:

    I can see that the Secret Service (SS as opposed to Luftwaffe ?) agents might be a little edgy about folks fiddling with electronic gadgets. But there are ways they could have immediately addressed it and assured themselves that this was truly an iPod.

    Imagine “aunt Ethel” walking in front of the WH, puttind down her carpet bag, taking out a camera and taking pictures. And she takes pictures seriously so she is fiddling with the exposure knobs. And she has a telephoto lens. And she counts taking a picture of the WH as a patriotic gesture.

    Now if she is a member of a dangerous group under surveillance, like Quaker peace groups or an 80 year old nun, its curtains for her.


  34. Laszlo Panaflex Says:

    Would these guys actually hand over power to an Obama administration? It’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t, but they have to know that if they do, they could all go to jail.
    Cheney has brought us torture, spying on Americans, and corporate rule, why not a coup?


  35. Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:

    When you read something like this, you would think you were reading about the old Soviet Union or a third world country with a dictator.

    The radical right likes to say that Bush has kept us safe because AQ hasn’t attacked us since 911. Why should they. They are sitting there laughing their a$$es off watching our President destroy our government from within. The Bush Crime Family has done more harm to this country than OBL could ever dream of doing.


  36. Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:

    Laszlo Panaflex Says:
    Cheney has brought us torture, spying on Americans, and corporate rule, why not a coup?

    Who’s going to pull off the coup? If they think the military would stand behind them, I think they better reevaluate their plans. The military is more likely to conduct a military coup to wrest control from the Bush Crime Family than to join in with them.


  37. Buckie Boy Says:

    Cheney’s favorite room. Was there a mirror on one wall? Did he hear heavy breathing from there?

    Just asking.


  38. Paul W Says:

    Bush White House has its own interrogation room.

    Of course it does.

    http://progressiveworldreview.com


  39. Bartmansfault Says:

    I for one am not at all surprised. How do you think they are able to conclude that waterboarding is not torture? You don’t just conclude something like that without some thorough research, you know.

    Actually, this room might more accurately be referred to as an interrogation laboratory.


  40. EugeneDebs Says:

    Cheese and Crackers Says:

    Well after all who cares what the new troll sockpuppet says. Its ok, you have proudly paraded your stupidity, you can go back to your bridge and let the adults talk now troll


  41. DanCaveman Says:

    Welcome to the Homeland…formerly known as the United States of America.


  42. continuum Says:

    The Republicons have trampled the US Constitution, destroyed the DOJ, eviscerated the military. Is anyone surprised that they have installed a torture room in the White House? What would Jefferson, Washington, and Adams say? How quickly we’ve fallen in only 7 years.


  43. upright left Says:

    ______
    Uncle Ho Says:

    I know I’m going off on a tangent here, but over at http://www.rawstory.com this morn, I read the article that the judge ruled in favor of “free speech zones” in Denver for the Democratic convention.

    As I drove home from work, I had NPR on and they were talking about how for the Olympics, China is having “free speech zones” for their dissenters.

    The schools I went to in the 1950s *60s taught me the ENTIRE USA IS A FREE SPEECH ZONE. WTF?

    USA = Communist China.
    Police states one and all.

    August 7th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
    ______

    The difference is that Americans used to believe that everyone had the right to ignore anyone else’s expressions of free speech. Too many people now seem to believe that their right of free speech means they have the right to impede the lives of others in an attempt to force everyone else to listen to their point of view. Just like everything else, a few people push the limits and cause problems for the reasonable majority.


  44. DieNowForPeace Says:

    The difference is that Americans used to believe that everyone had the right to ignore anyone else’s expressions of free speech.

    I see.

    So we can blame narrow minded fools like you?

    You can still ignore them, un-American dipshit.


  45. ThomasMc Says:

    Nazi is beginning to be a nicer term than Cheney.


  46. upright left Says:

    ______
    DieNowForPeace Says:

    I see.

    So we can blame narrow minded fools like you?

    You can still ignore them, un-American dipshit.

    August 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
    _____

    Knowing your difficulty with reading comprehension, I’ll clarify for you, bud. Some people think they have the right to IMPEDE the lives of others in their expressions of free speech. You can’t ignore someone if they impede you in going about your business. See how that works? ;)


  47. WillyWanka Says:

    people must be walking by the WH all the time fiddling with them. Of course, they are probably the “right” kind of people…

    You mean the “white” kind of people, meow don’t yew.


  48. Randy Tayler Says:

    Wow, people. You all are not at ALL fanatic.

    I know we all feel like Bush is America’s Hitler, but do we have to blame a ROOM on him now? It’s UNDER THE WHITE HOUSE. Why should we believe it hasn’t been there since the Red Scare?

    Oh, because we enjoy attributing anything evil to Bush.

    Folks, when you harp on things that almost surely aren’t his doing, you are ignoring everything IMPORTANT.


  49. Skeeter1 Says:

    Put me on the list of people who think that, if you are standing outside the gates of the White House for awhile and fiddling with a small electronic device, the Secret Service SHOULD find out exactly why you are doing it. The color of your skin shouldn’t matter in the slighest though.

    That being said, the basement interrogation room is extremely disturbing.

    It also sounds like bad policy to take a potentially dangerous person from OUTSIDE the White House and bring them INSIDE.


  50. gitrdone Says:

    It also sounds like bad policy to take a potentially dangerous person from OUTSIDE the White House and bring them INSIDE.

    No doubt, it is stupid policy. It was also a stupid move. It’s obvious, that if a guy is playing with this ipod outside, you can easily question the fella for awhile, search his things and tell him to be on his way. But the way they pounced on the guy is ridiculous and just shows how super paranoid they are.


  51. Skeeter1 Says:

    Gitrdone,

    Just what you would expect from people who didn’t believe the U.S. should plan for any sort of “insurgency” in Iraq, who thought that “firing” the Iraqi Army was a good idea, and didn’t think Humvees in a war zone should have armor.

    “Bad guys outside the White House? Gosh darn it, Bring them inside!”

    These B-Teamers just aren’t very good at the whole “defend the country” thing.


  52. Snoozer Says:

    Chasers war on everything, the pork spray clip:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwAB9TTEz1E


  53. I. B. Leary Says:

    I feel sorry for the young soldiers at Abu Graib, who took the hit for what they were encouraged or ordered to do.

    I think that room in the White house is called the “Cheneytorium”


  54. KEVKEV IN APACHE JUNCTION Says:

    I’VE HAD IT WITH THIS SHIT!
    I’M DONE BLOGGING……
    I’M OUT ON THE STREETS ON THIS ONE……

    BUSH IS OUT OF COUNTRY……

    ‘CAUSE SUMMERS HERE AND THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR FIGHTING IN THE STREET!

    LET’S TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY!!!!!!!!

    LATER, GOTTA GO MY PIZZA IS HERE……….



  55. Kahoneez Says:

    How BAd has it gotten , you can’t even ” Fiddle with your IPOD ” , I mean i like to fiddle with a lot of things , but this is where I draw the line .
    And how many people have disappeared , that we DON’T know about and never will , shoved out of some Black Water plane over the ocean or kidnapped and disappeared in some black hole, to be tortured .
    You asked for it Right Wing chicken Hawks , black clad military masquerading as “police”, no habeas corpus, “legal’ torture , so don’t complain when it happens to YOU .


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