--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't trust American intelligence. You…" description: "\"I don't trust American intelligence. You look at the torture report from the Senate: People inside the CIA are saying that it doesn't work, and we're g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/robert-baer-33434_cia_i-don-t-trust-american-intelligence-you_571447.png" --- # I don't trust American intelligence. You look at the… ![“I don't trust American intelligence. You look at the torture report from the Senate: People inside the CIA are saying that it doesn't work, and we're getting the information not from torture, but simply from questioning people.” quote by Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/robert-baer-33434_cia_i-don-t-trust-american-intelligence-you_571447.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/robert-baer-33434_cia_i-don-t-trust-american-intelligence-you_571447.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/robert-baer-33434_cia_i-don-t-trust-american-intelligence-you_571447.png) > “I don't trust American intelligence. You look at the torture report from the Senate: People inside the CIA are saying that it doesn't work, and we're getting the information not from torture, but simply from questioning people.” [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence agencies should rely on lawful interrogation, not torture, for reliable information. **In simple terms:** Avoid torture, use proper questioning. Key Takeaway Prioritize ethical methods. Themes ethics intelligence policy Mood cautious critical Type political ethical When to use this quote - government oversight - law enforcement training - human rights advocacy Key Concepts human rights coercion information gathering Questions to Reflect On - How can agencies ensure compliance with ethical standards? - What safeguards prevent misuse of interrogation techniques? A Different Perspective Torture can produce false or unreliable data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cia/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Questioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questioning/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) [Senate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senate/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) ## Related quotes > [The new CIA torture report is 6 million pages long. It's almost as long as a George Clooney pre-nup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/the-new-cia-torture-report-is-6-million-pages-long-it-s-almost-as/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Instead of using this space to pretend the newly released CIA 'torture' report confirms that the United States is the most evil nation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-limbaugh/instead-of-using-this-space-to-pretend-the-newly-released-cia-torture/) [David Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-limbaugh/) > [When I was at the CIA I asked my civilian advisory board to tackle some tough questions. Among the toughest: In a political culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hayden/when-i-was-at-the-cia-i-asked-my-civilian-advisory-board-to-tackle/) [Michael Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hayden/) > [“The surprise pointed up a continuing of American Intelligence. The various intelligence agencies poured a vast amount of information into Washington; they knew the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach-2/the-surprise-pointed-up-a-continuing-of-american-intelligence-the/) [T.R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach-2/) > [“correspondent in the Middle East, attaché William Yale. With that dispatch he was establishing a tradition of fundamentally misreading the situation in the Middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/correspondent-in-the-middle-east-attach-william-yale-with-that/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [One of the great intellectual failures of the American intelligence community, and especially the counterterrorism community, is to assume if someone hasn't attacked us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/one-of-the-great-intellectual-failures-of-the-american-intelligence/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [In short, the hunt for bin Laden could not have been accomplished without every form of American intelligence-gathering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/in-short-the-hunt-for-bin-laden-could-not-have-been-accomplished/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [American intelligence and military agencies have a huge footprint in terms of how the world works, but they're largely invisible. I'm interested in exploring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/american-intelligence-and-military-agencies-have-a-huge-footprint-in/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [The CIA is an incompetent bureaucracy, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-cia-is-an-incompetent-bureaucracy-generally/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [The US have dealt with Iran. I'm not saying attack it; I'm saying we should have taken it seriously. The Iranian connection to 9/11…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-us-have-dealt-with-iran-i-m-not-saying-attack-it-i-m-saying-we/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [On investments, 1998: Where I'm from we don't trust paper. Wealth is what's here on the premises. If I open a cupboard and see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/on-investments-1998-where-i-m-from-we-don-t-trust-paper-wealth-is/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [A single woman should only marry a man she can follow: Ladies if you are single, be very, very careful who you date and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/a-single-woman-should-only-marry-a-man-she-can-follow-ladies-if-you/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [I don't trust art that promises a 24-hour joyride. In fact, there seems to be a modern sense of entitlement for such constant "ups,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-don-t-trust-art-that-promises-a-24-hour-joyride-in-fact-there-seems/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [I don't trust anyone who hasn't been self-destructiv e in some way, and who hasn't gone through some sort of bout of self-loathing. You've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-don-t-trust-anyone-who-hasn-t-been-self-destructiv-e-in-some-way/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More by Robert Baer > [The US have dealt with Iran. I'm not saying attack it; I'm saying we should have taken it seriously. The Iranian connection to 9/11…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-us-have-dealt-with-iran-i-m-not-saying-attack-it-i-m-saying-we/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [“On one level, Americans are too distant from the Middle East, too naive to understand its complexities and history. On another, it's the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/on-one-level-americans-are-too-distant-from-the-middle-east-too-naive/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [If you want prisoners to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear – never to see them again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/if-you-want-prisoners-to-be-tortured-you-send-them-to-syria-if-you/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [The first suicide bombing that entered my consciousness was the Beirut embassy bombing. It was very personal. I'd been in the embassy and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-first-suicide-bombing-that-entered-my-consciousness-was-the/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [There is a tendency in any conflict, especially in a democracy, to fight the enemy you can, not the enemy you should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/there-is-a-tendency-in-any-conflict-especially-in-a-democracy-to/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Did bin Laden act alone, through his own al-Qaida network, in launching the attacks? About that I'm far more certain and emphatic: no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/did-bin-laden-act-alone-through-his-own-al-qaida-network-in-launching/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Egypt is the next domino to fall and, as they say, so goes Egypt so goes the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/egypt-is-the-next-domino-to-fall-and-as-they-say-so-goes-egypt-so/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [The CIA is an incompetent bureaucracy, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/the-cia-is-an-incompetent-bureaucracy-generally/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/bethlehem-was-god-with-us-calvary-was-god-for-us-and-pentecost-is-god/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [I truly believe that if torture had worked and there was a case to be made for it, we would see that on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-truly-believe-that-if-torture-had-worked-and-there-was-a-case-to-be/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [Destroying Iraq was the greatest strategic blunder this country has made in its history. Unless we change course, there's every reason to believe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/destroying-iraq-was-the-greatest-strategic-blunder-this-country-has/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [I take my own experience and other assassinations through history and get a lot into the drone program, which doesn't work, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/i-take-my-own-experience-and-other-assassinations-through-history-and/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [My take on the torture thing and even drones is: If we're going to get into assassination and torture, the second question is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/my-take-on-the-torture-thing-and-even-drones-is-if-we-re-going-to-get/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) > [It seems to me it's always the evil we refuse to see that does us the greatest harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baer/it-seems-to-me-it-s-always-the-evil-we-refuse-to-see-that-does-us-the/) [Robert Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) [Explore all 15 Robert Baer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baer/) ## More Cia quotes > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I find a difference in British spy fiction and American spy fiction. In the American version, it's more militaristic, partly because the CIA has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/i-find-a-difference-in-british-spy-fiction-and-american-spy-fiction/) [Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/) > [I spent close to a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA and have spent most of my adult life collecting intelligence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/i-spent-close-to-a-decade-as-an-undercover-officer-in-the-cia-and/) [Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“Havens turned again. Someone else passed between the trucks. That someone walked with less purpose than the other workers near the stalls. To Havens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-patten/havens-turned-again-someone-else-passed-between-the-trucks-that/) J.T. Patten > [“Marcia Wilson was a good example of Omega’s core strategy for creating a New World Order. It involved placing their people, or moles, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morcan/marcia-wilson-was-a-good-example-of-omega-s-core-strategy-for/) [James Morcan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morcan/) > [As a former undercover CIA officer, I've worked with my colleagues in the 114th Congress to approach the growing terrorist threat from a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/as-a-former-undercover-cia-officer-i-ve-worked-with-my-colleagues-in/) [Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/) > [“On December 11, 1996 in a posting on the internet list WITCHNT@MITVMA.MIT.EDU, Dr Peter Freyd, husband of the Executive Directory of the False Memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-a-ross/on-december-11-1996-in-a-posting-on-the-internet-list-witchnt-mitvma/) [Colin A. Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-a-ross/) > [The CIA has acknowledged that it has detained about 100 terrorists since 9/11, and about a third of them have been subjected to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/the-cia-has-acknowledged-that-it-has-detained-about-100-terrorists/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [Scouting is like CIA work and investigative work. You create a lot of stuff and try a lot of stuff. Some works and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/scouting-is-like-cia-work-and-investigative-work-you-create-a-lot-of/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [“The men were smashing windows and aiming their weapons through them. The driver had opened the door and was shouting for the women and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-zlotchew/the-men-were-smashing-windows-and-aiming-their-weapons-through-them/) [Clark Zlotchew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-zlotchew/) > [The activities that went on at Camp King between 1946 and the late 1950s have never been fully accounted for by either the Department…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/the-activities-that-went-on-at-camp-king-between-1946-and-the-late/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [Immediately after the September 11th attacks, I volunteered to go to Afghanistan in any capacity that the CIA wanted me. Four months passed before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/immediately-after-the-september-11th-attacks-i-volunteered-to-go-to/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) [Browse all 389 Cia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't trust American intelligence. 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