Torture absolutely works, says Trump

We should fight fire with fire against terror: US Prez

President Donald Trump’s renewed embrace of torture in the fight against Islamic extremism sets up a heated dispute with a long line of opponents both at home and abroad of Bush-era interrogation policies and CIA-run “black site” prisons.

“We have to fight fire with fire,” Mr Trump told ABC in an interview aired Wednesday after other news organisations obtained a copy of a draft executive order that signals sweeping changes to US interrogation and detention policy.

The draft order would reverse President Barack Obama's order to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — a place Mr Trump has said he wants to fill up “with bad dudes”.

It orders up recommendations on whether the US should reopen CIA detention facilities outside the United States. Critics said the clandestine sites marred America’s image on the world stage.

The draft directive also orders a review of interrogation methods used on terror suspects and calls for suggested modifications that would not violate the US legal ban on torture.

Mr Trump, who has pushed for tougher interrogation techniques, said he would consult with new Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo before authorising any new policy. But he said he had asked top intelligence officials: “Does torture work? And the answer was ‘Yes, absolutely’.”

Mr Mattis and Mr Pompeo did not know about the draft executive order, according to a congressional aide who was not allowed to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

When asked specifically about waterboarding, an interrogation method that simulates drowning, Mr Trump cited the extremist group’s atrocities against Christians and others and said he wanted to do “everything within the bounds of what you’re allowed to do legally”. — PTI