From (gasp) CNN:
"The Bush-era interrogation techniques that many view as torture may have yielded important information about terrorists, President Obama's national intelligence director said in an internal memo. High-value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country," Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said in a memo to personnel."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/21/obama.memos/index.html
Waterboarding might not be torture, it was fully vetted and approved by both houses of congress before it happened, it was only done on three AQ members, it revealed real information about who the members of AQ were and the structure of the organization.
The three people it was used on were Nashiri, Abu Zubaydah an AQ operative who gave up everything he knew after 35 seconds total, and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed who actually planned 911. We did not know he was a mastermind behind 911 until after he was waterboarded - it was a result of the waterboarding. He also told details of numerous other plots against the US and admitted to being part of the beheading of the reporter Daniel Pearl. With the details of the other plots the intelligence agencies could investigate them to stop them if possible.
And the best piece of all:
The Central Intelligence Agency told CNSNews.com today that it stands by the assertion made in a May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo that the use of “enhanced techniques” of interrogation on al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) -- including the use of waterboarding -- caused KSM to reveal information that allowed the U.S. government to thwart a planned attack on Los Angeles.
After he was subjected to the “waterboard” technique, KSM became cooperative, providing intelligence that led to the capture of key al Qaeda allies and, eventually, the closing down of an East Asian terrorist cell that had been tasked with carrying out the 9/11-style attack on Los Angeles.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46949
In fact that whole article is worth reading because it spells out just how careful the cia was (and when they stepped over the line) when it waterboarded.
