Calling Mr. Rogers.

“The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a “life-threatening condition.”

“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.

Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.

Crawford, 61, said the combination of the interrogation techniques, their duration and the impact on Qahtani’s health led to her conclusion. “The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive.”

All this for someone accused of planning the deaths of 3000 Americans. sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold I experienced in basic training. Waterboarding I experienced later during escape and invading training.

But none of this is torture, but if our pathetically weak officials want to call it that and allow terrorist to go free, then they will be held accountable for the next 9/11, and we will remember them.

UPDATE: Do check out Jules this morning.

UPDATE: Just for a real perspective,[Mohammed al-]Qahtani was planning to be on Flight 11 that morning. It’s a flight that flight attendant Betty Ong died on. Betty Ann Ong was a flight attendant on American Airlines, Flight 11, the first airplane to become hijacked on September 11, 2001. Shortly after the hijacking began, Betty chose to be involved and make a difference by taking action to notify the American Airlines ground crew of the hijacking situation on board the airplane. Amid horrific danger, she stayed on the telephone for 25 minutes, relaying vital information that eventually led to the closing of airspace by the FAA for the first time in United States history.

Here’s a partial transcript of that call. Here is a link for the mp3.

“BETTY ONG: Number 3 in the back. The cockpit’s not answering. Somebody’s stabbed in business class and . . . I think there’s mace . . . that we can’t breathe. I don’t know, I think we’re getting hijacked.

MALE VOICE: Which flight are you on?

BETTY ONG: Flight 12.

OPERATOR: And what seat are you in? . . . Ma’am, are you there? . . .

BETTY ONG: Yes.

MALE VOICE: What seat are you in?

FEMALE VOICE: Ma’am, what seat are you in?

BETTY ONG: We’re . . . just left Boston, we’re up in the air.

FEMALE VOICE: I know, what . . .

BETTY ONG: We’re supposed to go to LA and the cockpit’s not answering their phone.

FEMALE VOICE: Okay, but what seat are you sitting in? What’s the number of your seat?

BETTY ONG: Okay, I’m in my jump seat right now.

FEMALE VOICE: Okay.

BETTY ONG: At 3R.

FEMALE VOICE: Okay.

MALE VOICE: Okay, you’re the flight attendant? I’m sorry, did you say you’re the flight attendant?

BETTY ONG: Hello?

FEMALE VOICE: Yes, hello.

MALE VOICE: What is your name?

BETTY ONG: Hi, you’re going to have to speak up, I can’t hear you.

MALE VOICE: Sure. What is your name?

BETTY ONG: Okay, my name is Betty Ong. I’m number 3 on Flight 11.

MALE VOICE: Okay.

BETTY ONG: And the cockpit is not answering their phone. And there’s somebody stabbed in business class. And there’s . . . we can’t breathe in business class. Somebody’s got mace or something.

MALE VOICE: Can you describe the person that you said — someone is what in business class?

BETTY ONG: I’m sitting in the back. Somebody’s coming back from business. If you can hold on for one second, they’re coming back.

BETTY ONG: Okay. Our number 1 got stabbed. Our purser is stabbed. Nobody knows who is stabbed who, and we can’t even get up to business class right now cause nobody can breathe. Our number 1 is stabbed right now. And who else is . . .

MALE VOICE: Okay, and do we . . .

BETTY ONG: and our number 5 — our first class passengers are — galley flight attendant and our purser has been stabbed. And we can’t get into the cockpit, the door won’t open. Hello?

MALE VOICE: Yeah, I’m taking it down. All the information. We’re also, you know, of course, recording this. At this point . . .

FEMALE VOICE: This is Operations. What flight number are we talking about?

MALE VOICE: Flight 12.

FEMALE VOICE: Flight 12? Okay. I’m getting . . .

BETTY ONG: No. We’re on Flight 11 right now. This is Flight 11.

MALE VOICE: It’s Flight 11, I’m sorry Nydia.

BETTY ONG: Boston to Los Angeles.

MALE VOICE: Yes.

BETTY ONG: Our number 1 has been stabbed and our 5 has been stabbed. Can anybody get up to the cockpit? Can anybody get up to the cockpit? Okay. We can’t even get into the cockpit. We don’t know who’s up there.

MALE VOICE: Well, if they were shrewd they would keep the door closed and -

BETTY ONG: I’m sorry?

MALE VOICE: Would they not maintain a sterile cockpit?

BETTY ONG: I think the guys are up there. They might have gone there — jammed the way up there, or something. Nobody can call the cockpit. We can’t even get inside. Is anybody still there?

MALE VOICE: Yes, we’re still here.

FEMALE VOICE: Okay.

BETTY ONG: I’m staying on the line as well.

MALE VOICE: Okay.

Betty died in an inferno, Mr. Mohammed al-]Qahtani got to dance.

Technorati Tags: 9/11, Interrogation