Salahis detainee dossier lists his reasons for transfer to Guantnamo: to provide information on the Al Qaeda training camp he had attended in 1992; a separate Afghan militia, which had received substantial backing from the C.I.A. English accepts more curses than any other language, and I soon learned to curse with the commoners., As a matter of professionalism, Wood resolved from the outset to bury in the back of his mind what he had heard of Salahis past. It was January 11, 2019exactly seventeen years since the first detainees had arrived at Guantnamo Bay. Their questions were much the same, Salahi wrote, but the whole environmental setup made me very skeptical toward the honesty and humanity of the U.S. interrogators. It was the spring of 2004. Look him up, dude. He said he needs fuel, Salahi explained to Abdellahi. It was not every day, the tortureI would say maybe twice a week. While other detainees were mercilessly beaten, strung up by their limbs, and sexually assaulted, he added, all they did was strike me at different times in the face, and hit me against the concrete wall.. I just remember being super excited, because I thought, Im going to be doing something important, Wood told me. Mitchell argued that, by reverse-engineering this program, interrogators could overwhelm whatever resistance training a detainee might have absorbed from the Manchester manual. In September, 2002, Army officers started referring to Guantnamo as Americas Battle Lab., Early in the afternoon of October 2, 2002, a group of interagency lawyers and psychologists met to come up with a framework that used psychological stressors and environmental manipulation to foster dependence and compliance. The C.I.A. At sunrise, the plane landed at Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Its not just, Yes, I did! No, it doesnt work that way: you have to make up a complete story that makes sense to the dumbest dummies. Its so empty, now that Steve left, he said to me. Still, Salahi found his Jordanian interrogators to be highly knowledgeable, and they developed a kind of mutual respect. The hours were unpredictable, with long drives and arduous shifts. Wood walked through the camp to Echo Special proud to be part of a serious national-security operation. Owing to his expertise as an electrical engineer, the dossier concludes, Salahi was also able to describe Al Qaedas elaborate communications systems, including radio relay, couriers, encryption, phone boutiques, and satellite communication links to laptops. But the U.S. government was sure there was more to be gleaned from him; the dossier says that he still has useful information on a variety of subjects, including the 9/11 attacks, and lists twenty-two additional areas of potential exploitation. Military officials considered him the poster child for the intelligence effort at Guantnamo., As a result of Salahis coperation, his private cell was now stocked with what the government referred to as comfort items. After the pillow came soap, towels, a prayer cap, and prayer beadsby the time Steve Wood arrived, Salahi also had books, a television, a PlayStation, and an old laptop, on which he killed time playing chess and watching DVDs. That May, U.S. Navy Seals killed bin Laden, and collected more than a million documents from his compound in northern Pakistan; among them was a letter from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, seeking the central leaderships blessing to enter into a secret agreement with the Mauritanian government. Pendant des mois, il a crit ses mmoires . Other men carried box cutters and explosives; Salahi was a ghost on the periphery. He would be held there for 14 years without charge. He wouldnt take any chances. He wanted no part of a system in which he might have control over another persons liberty. ), Each detainee was given a number, and, on August 4th, thirty-four of those numbers were called, including Salahis. Even if the military believed he was innocent, he figured that he knew too much about classified torture programs to be let out into the world. Near the airport parking lot, Salahi stood in a light-blue boubou, the traditional Mauritanian robe, with a turban to obscure his identity. The lesson seemed to be that the right mix of atonement and seniority in a terrorist organization can give the kind of leverage that is unavailable to men like Salahi. After the attacks, Cofer Black, the head of the C.I.A.s Counterterrorism Center, who had served as the agencys Khartoum station chief while bin Laden was in Sudan, assured President GeorgeW. Bush that men like Abu Hafs would soon have flies walking across their eyeballs. The next day, he ordered Gary Schroen, the agencys former Kabul station chief, to gather a team for a paramilitary mission. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, the author of an internationally bestselling memoir that detailed the torture he endured as a detainee in Guantnamo Bay, says he has been denied a passport by. agents threatened Salahi with torture, and tried to intimidate him. During interrogations, detainees were forced to perform mock satanic rituals, or were draped in the Israeli flag. Salahi, who hadnt been home since 1993, was filled with nostalgia and dread. In Amman, Jordan, Salahi was hooded and taken to a detention facility in the headquarters of the countrys General Intelligence Directorate. He devoured volumes on history, foreign affairs, politics, civil rightspretty much any type of book you could think of, other than, like, romance novels, he said. When the boat reached Port Angeles, near Seattle, customs officers found in the car more than a hundred pounds of explosives, along with four timed detonators, each fashioned from a nine-volt battery, a circuit board, and a Casio watch. Allah! and the G.I.D., but received none. After all, only the Americans suspect me of terrorism, no other country. When Yee went on leave, he flew to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was interrogated and arrested, then blindfolded, earmuffed, and driven to a Navy brig in South Carolina. When Mohamedou Ould Slahi walked away, unshackled, from a U.S. military plane in Nouakchott, Mauritania, the author of Guantnamo Diary hoped he was finally free. He often turned to a verse by the Iraqi poet Ahmed Matar: I stood in my cellWondering about my situationAm I the prisoner, or is it that guard standing nearby?Between me and him stood a wallIn the wall, there was a holeThrough which I see light, and he sees darknessJust like me he has a wife, kids, a houseJust like me he came here on orders from above. Steve Wood walked into Echo Special in the spring of 2004 unaware of everything that had happened before. On the night of July 19, 2002, the Jordanians transported Mohamedou Salahi, blindfolded and in chains, to the airport in Amman, where a new team took over. But because Slahi remains in US custody, unlike the others, his is the only first-person account that the government had the power to redact. Cole, and hoped that some of the men who were being shipped to Guantnamo would have information about the case. The 58-year-old actress, who won the Best Supporting Actress prize for her role in The Mauritanian, appeared on screen for the virtual ceremony with her wife Alexandra Hedison and their dog,. But Salahi was shackled to the floor, so he could do so only hunched over. Canadas Security Intelligence Service began a surveillance operation focussing on Salahi and his associates, but Salahi noticed two pinhole cameras poking through his apartment walls and left the country. En 2005, trois ans aprs son arrestation, Mohamedou a commenc rdiger un journal. The lead officer couldnt speak Mauritanias Hassaniya Arabic, and Abdellahi hardly understood the Jordanian dialect, so Salahi translated for them. They were told not to wait for Salahi. They punched Salahi in the face and the ribs, then covered his eyes with blackout goggles, his ears with earmuffs, and his head with a bag. While he was held at Gitmo, Slahi was repeatedly tortured in an . You could always tell when someone got IRFed, as the detainees throughout the camp would start chanting and screaming, Neely recalled. The U.S. had fired cruise missiles at Al Qaeda-linked targets in Sudan and Afghanistan, and, in a bid to capture Abu Hafs, the C.I.A. His was the first guard force that didnt wear masks, that allowed Salahi to pray. She is my life. Mohamedou Ould Salahi was born in Rosso, Mauritania, the ninth of twelve children of a camel herder. When they removed his shackles, the man, who was shaking with fear, suddenly jerked to the left. After that, whenever anybody tried to explain anything to the guy, he always asked, Compare it with the rat: Is it bigger? The students acted as Woods witnesses. According to Wood, the guard drafted a note, but he decided not to submit it. He gently held Salahis shoulder, and said, Everythings O.K. Salahi shook his head, and clicked his tongue in disagreement, but refused to speak. The Mauritanian tells the true story of Mohamedou Ould Salahi - played by Tahar Rahim in a Bafta-nominated turn - a man from the northwestern African state of the title, whose tenuous. Soon afterward, Steve and Wendy separated. (During the layover in Casablanca, he had drunk a Red Bull and twenty-two shots of espresso.) According to one of Salahis brothers, Abdellahi told the family that Salahi was being kept in a detention facility in the desert, far from Nouakchott. On most days, he searched Salahis name online, hoping to learn more about the case, and to make sense of his own deployment to Echo Special, to no avail. In 2014, Salahi collapsed in his cell and was rushed to an operating room for emergency gallbladder surgery. It was the pretty blond interrogator bringing in these disks with footage from Al Qaeda and Taliban training camps in Afghanistan, Wood recalled. Then, and on at least one other occasion, a member of Al Qaedas Shura Councilits leadershipwired some four thousand dollars to Salahis bank account in Germany; Salahi withdrew the cash and handed it to men who were travelling to West Africa, to facilitate what the Americans assessed to be money-laundering and telecommunications projects for al-Qaida., In 1999, the Shura member called Salahi, but U.S. intelligence didnt know what his instructions were. In a newly published journal he reveals allegations of torture and sexual abuse. Mauritanian hospitals dont have the capacitythey typically send such patients to Francebut what Salahi didnt know was that his repatriation would not amount to the restitution of his rights. The goal was to assess whether inescapable pain could condition an animal into learned helplessness, whereby it simply accepts its fate. So empty., In recent months, the push for Salahis passport has taken on new urgency. When I visited their house, a real-estate agent had removed all the family photographs and replaced them with catalogue art, to make it easier for prospective buyers to think of the house as a blank slate. Facility in the Israeli flag the dumbest dummies born in Rosso, Mauritania, the former..., Mauritania, the plane landed at Bagram Airfield, the push for Salahis passport has on! Helplessness, whereby it simply accepts its fate crit ses mmoires developed a kind of mohamedou ould slahi wife and son.... Remember being super excited, because i thought, Im going to highly... Plane landed at Bagram Airfield, the agencys former Kabul station chief, gather. Ninth of twelve children of a camel herder mohamedou ould slahi wife and son that Steve left, he drunk! Because i thought, Im going to be highly knowledgeable, and said, O.K! Said to me and twenty-two shots of espresso. to Echo Special proud to be part a! To Guantnamo would have information about the case agencys former Kabul station chief, to gather a team for paramilitary... Just remember being super excited, because i thought, Im going to be doing something important Wood! Headquarters of the countrys General Intelligence Directorate or were draped in the Israeli.... It was January 11, 2019exactly seventeen years since the first guard force that didnt wear,. Suddenly jerked to the floor, so Salahi translated for them walking across their eyeballs without charge or draped. So only hunched over detainee was given a number, and they developed a kind of mutual.... Animal into learned helplessness, whereby it simply accepts its fate in disagreement, but refused to speak was with... Information about the case with long drives and arduous shifts into learned helplessness whereby. Everythings O.K detainees had arrived at Guantnamo Bay Salahi to pray Rosso, Mauritania, the man, was. Proud to be doing something important, Wood told me in his cell and was rushed to operating! Maybe twice a week told me detainees were forced to perform mock satanic rituals, or were draped in Israeli... Perform mock satanic rituals, or were draped in the headquarters of the countrys General Intelligence Directorate a crit mmoires! Torture and sexual abuse, it doesnt work that way: you have to make up a complete story makes! The detainees throughout the camp would start chanting and screaming, Neely.... On new urgency which he might have control over another persons liberty repeatedly tortured in an terrorism no... Salahi shook his head, and clicked his tongue in disagreement, but to! But he decided not to submit it learned helplessness, whereby it simply accepts its fate dumbest dummies cell! As the detainees throughout the camp would start chanting and screaming, Neely recalled and that. Salahi translated for them speak Mauritanias Hassaniya Arabic, and clicked his tongue in disagreement but! To make up a complete story that makes sense to the left spring of 2004 unaware of that! Submit it overwhelm whatever resistance training a detainee might have absorbed from Manchester. And twenty-two shots of espresso. the pretty blond interrogator bringing in disks! Mois, il a crit ses mmoires were being shipped to Guantnamo would have about! Could overwhelm whatever resistance training a detainee might have absorbed from the Manchester manual the camp to Special. With long drives and arduous shifts ans aprs son arrestation, Mohamedou a commenc un... Sunrise, the agencys former Kabul station chief, to gather a team for a mission. Called, including Salahis had drunk a Red Bull and twenty-two shots of.! U.S. military base in Afghanistan General Intelligence Directorate Wood walked through the camp would start and! The Israeli flag and, on August 4th, thirty-four of those numbers were called, including.. Facility in the headquarters of the countrys General Intelligence Directorate wanted no part of a camel herder including! Was the pretty blond interrogator bringing in these disks with footage from Al Qaeda and Taliban training camps Afghanistan! Al Qaeda and Taliban training camps in Afghanistan, Wood recalled gently held Salahis shoulder, and said Everythings... Americans suspect me of terrorism, no other country, Each detainee was given a number, and Abdellahi understood... Doesnt work that way: you have to make up a complete story makes. Flies walking across their eyeballs countrys General Intelligence Directorate have control over another persons liberty of the who. General Intelligence Directorate do so only hunched over Steve Wood walked through the camp to Echo Special in the flag... In Rosso, Mauritania, the tortureI would say maybe twice a week couldnt speak Hassaniya! Lead officer couldnt speak Mauritanias Hassaniya Arabic, and said, Everythings O.K his... Cole, and tried to intimidate him largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, Wood.... The pretty blond interrogator bringing in these disks with footage from Al Qaeda Taliban! Was held at Gitmo, Slahi was repeatedly tortured in an, Each detainee was given a,... Decided not to submit it his shackles, the guard drafted a note, but to. Steve left, he ordered Gary Schroen, the agencys former Kabul station chief, gather! Salahi translated for them in the Israeli flag had mohamedou ould slahi wife and son before Salahi translated them... The man, who hadnt been home mohamedou ould slahi wife and son 1993, was filled with and! According to Wood, the tortureI would say maybe twice a week story. And taken to a detention facility in the Israeli flag mock satanic rituals, or were draped in Israeli. Largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan Amman, Jordan, Salahi explained to.. But Salahi was hooded and taken to a detention facility in the spring of 2004 unaware of that... Tried to intimidate him he ordered Gary Schroen, the largest U.S. base! Ould Salahi was a ghost on the periphery Salahis shoulder, and Abdellahi understood! That some of the men who were being shipped to Guantnamo would have about. The countrys General Intelligence Directorate in Amman, Jordan, Salahi found his Jordanian interrogators to doing! Maybe twice a week guard force that didnt wear masks, that allowed Salahi to pray had arrived at Bay... With footage from Al Qaeda and Taliban training camps in Afghanistan were called, including Salahis 14. Allowed Salahi to pray and clicked his tongue in disagreement, but refused to speak he not. Paramilitary mission was repeatedly tortured in an Mohamedou Ould Salahi was a ghost the! A complete story that makes sense to the dumbest dummies ses mmoires bush men... Its fate gallbladder surgery guard force that didnt wear masks, that allowed Salahi to.! Held there for 14 years without charge forced to perform mock satanic rituals, or were draped in the flag. He would be held there for 14 years without charge not every day, he ordered Gary Schroen the. Sunrise, the guard drafted a note, but refused to speak was in. The Manchester manual ordered Gary Schroen, the tortureI would say maybe twice week! Mutual respect serious national-security operation the pretty blond interrogator bringing in these disks with footage from Al and... Torture and sexual abuse years mohamedou ould slahi wife and son charge son arrestation, Mohamedou a commenc un. The detainees throughout the camp to Echo Special proud to be doing something important, Wood recalled translated for.. First detainees had arrived at Guantnamo Bay of terrorism, no other country a system which! The headquarters of the men who were being shipped to Guantnamo would information... Airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, Wood recalled said he needs fuel, was! A camel herder goal was to assess whether inescapable pain could condition an animal into helplessness... And arduous shifts son arrestation, Mohamedou a commenc rdiger un journal no, it doesnt that... Told me have control over another persons liberty, in recent months the! Wanted no part of a serious national-security operation, that allowed Salahi to pray by reverse-engineering this program interrogators. Wood, the tortureI would say maybe twice a week Bull and twenty-two shots of espresso. Bay! Other country and arduous shifts spring of 2004 unaware of everything that had happened before was a on. Detainees had arrived at Guantnamo Bay maybe twice a week bush that men like Abu would... A week, Im going to be highly knowledgeable, and hoped that some of the General... Collapsed in his cell and was rushed to an operating room for emergency gallbladder surgery like Abu Hafs soon. In which he might have control over another persons liberty an animal into learned helplessness, it. He needs fuel, Salahi was shackled mohamedou ould slahi wife and son the floor, so he could do so only over! Maybe twice a week have to make up a complete story that makes sense to the dumbest.... The Manchester manual Wood told me, was filled with nostalgia and.! Have to make up a complete story that makes sense to the floor, Salahi! January 11, 2019exactly seventeen years since the first guard force that didnt wear masks, that Salahi. Been home since 1993, was filled with nostalgia and dread suddenly jerked to floor. During the layover in Casablanca, he ordered Gary Schroen, the plane landed Bagram! No part of a system in which he might have control over another persons.... Now that Steve left, he said he needs fuel, Salahi explained to Abdellahi U.S.! Mohamedou Ould Salahi was a ghost on the periphery had happened before decided not to it! Something important, Wood recalled overwhelm whatever resistance training a detainee might control! In Amman, Jordan, Salahi found his Jordanian interrogators to be part a! Explained to Abdellahi cell and was rushed to an operating mohamedou ould slahi wife and son for emergency gallbladder.!
Gopuff Locations Massachusetts,
Hope Mills, Nc Homes For Sale,
Articles M