The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture: Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program (118 page)

2182.
The CIA’s June 2013 Response does not address the Committee Study finding that Abu Zubaydah did not provide reporting on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti in 2002. However, on October 25, 2013, the CIA responded in writing that the December 13, 2012, Committee Study was correct, and confirmed that the “first report from Abu Zubaydah discussing Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti was in 2003.” (
See
DTS #2013-3152.) As described in the intelligence chronology in Volume II, on June 13, 2002, the CIA’s ALEC Station sent a cable requesting that Abu Zubaydah be questioned regarding his knowledge of Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, whom the CIA believed was then in Pakistan. Despite this request, CIA records indicate that Abu Zubaydah was not asked about Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti at this time. (
See
ALEC ████ (130117Z JUN 02).) Days later, on June 18, 2002, Abu Zubaydah was placed in isolation, without any questioning or contact. On August 4, 2002, the CIA resumed contact and immediately began using the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques against Abu Zubaydah, including the waterboard. CIA records indicate that Abu Zubaydah was not asked about Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti until July 7, 2003, when he denied knowing the name. (
See
█████ 12236 (072032Z JUL 03).) As is detailed in the intelligence chronology in Volume II, on April 3, 2002, the CIA sent a cable stating that on page 8 of a 27-page address book found with Abu Zubaydah, there was the name “Abu Ahmad K.” with a phone number that was found to be already under U.S. intelligence collection.
See
CIA ████ (032031Z APR 02).

2183.
██████ 12236 (072032Z JUL 03).

2184.
DIRECTOR ████ (251833Z JUN 02).

2185.
Riyadh the Facilitator, aka Sharqawi Ah Abdu al-Hajj, was captured on February 7, 2002. (
See
██████ 10480 (█████ FEB 02).) Al-Hajj was transferred to █████ custody on February ██, 2002. (
See
█████ 18265 (█████ FEB 02).) On January █, 2004, al-Hajj was rendered to CIA custody.
See
███████████████ 2335 ████████.

2186.
██████████ 1591 █████ JAN 04). Documents provided to the Committee on “detainee reporting” related to the UBL operation (incorrectly) indicate that Riyadh the Facilitator was in CIA custody.
See
May 5, 2011, six-page CIA chart entitled, “Detainee Reporting on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti”(DTS #2011-2004).

2187.
DIRECTOR █████ (221240Z AUG 02). Abu Zubair al-Ha’ili never entered the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program.

2188.
Italics added. CIA testimony from CIA officer [REDACTED] and transcript of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Armed Services Committee briefing on May 4, 2011 (DTS #2011-2049). The CIA subsequently provided the Committee with a letter dated May 5, 2011, which included a document entitled, “Background Detainee Information on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti,” with an accompanying six-page chart entitled, “Detainee Reporting on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti” (DTS #2011-2004). See
also
a similar, but less detailed CIA document entitled, “Detainee Reporting on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti’s Historic Links to Usama Bin Laden.”

2189.
On May 5, 2004, the CIA provided several documents to the Committee, including a chart entitled, “Detainee Reporting on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti,” described in this summary. For additional details,
see
intelligence chronology in Volume II.

2190.
Below are specific details on the reporting of Abu Zubaydah, KSM, Khallad bin Attash, Ammar al-Baluchi, and Abu Faraj al-Libi related to Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti: 1) Abu Zubaydah was captured on March 28, 2002, with a 27-page address book that included a phone number for “Abu Ahmad K,” which matched a ████████ mobile phone number that was already under intelligence collection by the U.S. Intelligence Community. (As early as July 2002, the CIA associated the phone number with al-Kuwaiti.) As detailed in the Study, Abu Zubaydah provided significant intelligence, primarily to FBI special agents, from the time of his capture on March 28, 2002, through June 18, 2002, when he was placed in isolation for 47 days. On June 13, 2002, less than a week before he was placed in isolation, CIA Headquarters requested that interrogators ask Abu Zubaydah about his knowledge of Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, who was believed to be in Pakistan, according to the request from CIA Headquarters. There are no CIA records indicating that the interrogators asked Abu Zubaydah about al-Kuwaiti. Instead, as described, Abu Zubaydah was placed in isolation beginning on June 18, 2002, with the FBI and CIA interrogators departing the detention site. The FBI did not return. On August 4, 2002, CIA interrogators reestablished contact with Abu Zubaydah and immediately began to subject Abu Zubaydah to the non-stop use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques for 17 days, which included at least 83 applications of the CIA’s waterboard interrogation technique. According to CIA records, Abu Zubaydah was not asked about Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti until July 7, 2003, when he denied knowing the name. On April 27, 2004, Abu Zubaydah again stated that he did not recognize the name “Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti.” In August 2005, Abu Zubaydah speculated on an individual the CIA stated might be “identifiable with Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, aka Abu Ahmad al-Pakistani,” but Abu Zubaydah stated the person in question was not close with UBL. 2) KSM was captured on March 1, 2003, during a raid in Pakistan. An email address associated with Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti was found on a laptop that was assessed to be associated with KSM. Once rendered to CIA custody on March █, 2003, KSM was immediately subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques, which continued through March 25, 2003, and included at least 183 applications of the CIA’s waterboard interrogation technique. On March 5, 2003, KSM provided information concerning a senior al-Qa’ida member named “Abu Khalid,” whom KSM later called “Abu Ahmad al-Baluchi.” The information KSM provided could not be corroborated by other intelligence collected by the CIA, and KSM provided no further information on the individual. On May 5, 2003, KSM provided his first information on an individual named “Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti” when he was confronted with reporting from a detainee not in CIA custody, Masran bin Arshad. KSM confirmed bin Arshad’s reporting regarding Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, specifically that bin Arshad was originally tasked by KSM to get money from Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti in Pakistan. KSM further relayed that Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti worked with Hassan Ghul helping to move families from Afghanistan to Pakistan. On May 22, 2003, KSM was specifically asked about a UBL courier named Abu Ahmed. KSM again described a courier for UBL whose name was Abu Ahmed al-Baluchi, but noted that this Abu Ahmed was more interested in earning money than in serving al-Qa’ida. According to KSM, Abu Ahmed was working with Hassan Ghul in April or May 2002, but speculated that Abu Ahmed was in Iran as of early March 2003. In July 2003, KSM stated that Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti worked with Abu Zubaydah’s group prior to September 2001 and later with Abu Sulayman al-Jaza’iri. In September 2003, KSM was confronted with reporting from another detainee in foreign government custody on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti. KSM confirmed that he had told Hambali to work with Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti as he transited Pakistan, but KSM downplayed al-Kuwaiti’s importance, claiming to have contacted Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti only three to four times when he was in Peshawar and stating that Abu Ahmad worked “primarily with lower level members” and appeared to have a higher status than he actually had in al-Qa’ida because KSM relied on al-Kuwaiti for travel facilitation. In January 2004, based on statements made by Hassan Ghul—provided prior to the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques—that it was “well known” that UBL was always with al-Kuwaiti, CIA Headquarters asked CIA interrogators to reengage KSM on the relationship between al-Kuwaiti and UBL, noting the “serious disconnect” between Ghul’s reporting linking UBL and Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti and KSM’s “pithy” description of al-Kuwaiti. CIA Headquarters wrote that unlike Hassan Ghul, KSM had made “no reference to a link between Abu Ahmed and al-Qa’ida’s two top leaders” and that KSM “has some explaining to do about Abu Ahmed and his support to UBL and Zawahiri.” On May 31, 2004, KSM claimed that al-Kuwaiti was “not very senior, nor was he wanted,” noting that al-Kuwaiti could move about freely, and might be in Peshawar. In August 2005, KSM stated that Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti was not a courier and that he had never heard of Abu Ahmad transporting letters for UBL. Instead, KSM claimed that al-Kuwaiti was focused on family after he married in 2002. 3) Khallad bin Attash was arrested with Ammar al-Baluchi in a unilateral operation by Pakistani authorities resulting from criminal leads on April 29, 2003. On May █ 2003, he was rendered to CIA custody and immediately subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques from May 16, 2003, to May 18, 2003, and then again from July 18, 2003, to July 29, 2003. On June 30, 2003, bin Attash stated that al-Kuwaiti was admired among the men. On July 27, 2003, bin Attash corroborated intelligence reporting that al-Kuwaiti played a facilitation role in al-Qa’ida and that al-Kuwaiti departed Karachi to get married. In January 2004, bin Attash stated that al-Kuwaiti was not close to UBL and not involved in al-Qa’ida operations, and that al-Kuwaiti was settling down with his wife in the summer of 2003. In August 2005, bin Attash stated that Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti was not a courier, that he had never heard of Abu Ahmad transporting letters for UBL, and that Abu Ahmad was instead focused on family after he married in 2002. In August 2006, bin Attash reiterated that al-Kuwaiti was not a courier, but rather focused on family life. 4) Ammar al-Baluchi was arrested with Khallad bin Attash in a unilateral operation by Pakistani authorities resulting from criminal leads on April 29, 2003. Upon his arrest, Ammar al-Baluchi was cooperative and provided information on a number of topics while in foreign government custody, including information on Abu Ahmadal-Kuwaiti that the CIA disseminated prior to al-Baluchi being transferred to CIA custody on May █ 2003. After Ammar al-Baluchi was transferred to CIA custody, the CIA subjected Ammar al-Baluchi to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques from May 17, 2003, to May 20, 2003. On May 19, 2003, al-Baluchi stated he fabricated information while being subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques the previous day, but in response to questioning, stated that he believed UBL was on tiie Pakistan/Afghanistan border and that a brother of al-Kuwaiti was to take over courier duties for UBL. In June 2003, al-Baluchi stated that there were rumors that al-Kuwaiti was a courier. In January 2004, al-Baluchi retracted previous reporting, stating that al-Kuwaiti was never a courier and would not have direct contact with UBL or Aymanal-Zawahiri because “unlike someone like Abu Faraj, [al-Kuwaiti] was too young and didn’t have much experience or credentials to be in that position.” In May 2004, al-Baluchi stated that al-Kuwaiti may have worked for Abu Faraj al-Libi. 5) Abu Faraj al-Libi was captured in Pakistan on May 2, 2005. On May ██, 2005, Abu Faraj al-Libi
was rendered to CIA custody. Abu Faraj al-Libi was subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques from May 28, 2005, to June 2, 2005, and again from June 17, 2005, to June 28, 2005. It was not until July 12, 2005, that CIA Headquarters sent a set of “Tier Three Requirements Regarding Abu Ahmad Al-Kuwaiti” to the detention site holding Abu Faraj al-Libi. Prior to this, interrogators had focused their questioning of Abu Faraj on operational plans, as well as information on senior al-Qa’ida leadership, primarily Hamza Rab’ia and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. On July 13, 2005, Abu Faraj al-Libi denied knowledge of Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, or any of his aliases. On July 15, 2005, CIA Headquarters noted they did not believe Abu Faraj was being truthful and requested CIA debriefers confront Abu Faraj again regarding his relationship with al-Kuwaiti. CIA records indicate that CIA debriefers did not respond to this request. On August 12, 2005, having received no response to its previous request, CIA Headquarters again asked Abu Faraj’s debriefers to readdress the issue of Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti. CIA analysts noted that they “[found Faraj’s] denials of even recognizing his name difficult to believe,” and suggested that “one possible reason why [Faraj] lied about not recognizing Abu Ahmad’s name] is [an attempt] to protect him - leading us to request that base readdress this issue with [Faraj] on a priority basis.” Two days later, on August 14, 2005, after being questioned again about Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, Abu Faraj al-Libi “swore to God” that he did not know al-Kuwaiti, or anybody who went by any of his aliases, insisting he would never forget anybody who worked for him. Abu Faraj did suggest, however, that an “Ahmad al-Pakistani” had worked with Marwan al-Jabbur to care for families in the Lahore, Pakistan, area, but said he (Abu Faraj) had no relationship with this al-Pakistani. On August 17, 2005, CIA Headquarters requested that debriefers reengage certain detainees on the role of Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti. In response, KSM and Khallad bin Attash claimed that al-Kuwaiti was not a courier and that they had never heard of Abu Ahmad transporting letters for UBL. KSM and Khallad bin Attash claimed that al-Kuwaiti was focused on family after he married in 2002. However, Ammar al-Baluchi indicated that al-Kuwaiti worked for Abu Faraj al-Libi in 2002. A September 1, 2005, CIA report states that Abu Faraj al-Libi identified an “Abu ‘Abd al Khaliq Jan,” as his “go-between with Bin Ladin since mid-2003,” but there was no other CIA reporting to support this assertion. In May 2007, a CIA targeting study concluded that the reporting from KSM and Abu Faraj al-Libi was “not credible,” and “their attempts to downplay Abu Ahmad’s importance or deny knowledge of Abu Ahmad are likely part of an effort to withhold information on UBL or his close associates.” A September 28, 2007, CIA report concluded that “Abu Faraj was probably the last detainee to maintain contact with UBL—possibly through Abu Ahmad,” but noted that “Abu Faraj vehemently denied any knowledge of Abu Ahmad.”
See
intelligence chronology in Volume 11 for additional details.

2191.
Italics added.