The New York Times, which first reported the arrest of Mullah Baradar on its Web site late Monday, cited sources as saying that Pakistan was leading the interrogation of Baradar, but that Americans were also involved and had access to the intelligence. One Pakistani officer said Baradar was arrested 10 days ago with the assistance of the United States and “was talking” to his interrogators.

The NY Times said the conditions of the questioning were unclear, noting that the Obama administration has banned harsh interrogations like waterboarding by Americans, but that the Pakistanis have “long been known to subject prisoners to brutal questioning.”

U.S. Has Access to Information from ‘Interrogation’

The source from the U.S. military confirmed U.S. officials have had access to information from Baradar’s interrogation. Senior US officials said Mullah Baradar was “providing intelligence”. “This operation was an enormous success,” one official told ABC News. “It is a very big deal,” the official said. The New York Times, citing US government sources, said the prisoner was the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the US-led war in Afghanistan began in 2001.

Obama Claims Moral Ground by Banning Waterboarding by U.S.

President Obama had previously acknowledged that the harsh interrogation techniques he has banned might have yielded useful information, but that he was nonetheless willing to rule them out on moral grounds.

He conceded that “it may be harder” to get information, but what “makes us, I think, still a beacon to the world is that we are willing to hold true to our ideals, even when it’s hard, not just when it’s easy.”

Obama Sharp Contrast to Bush-Cheney

In the past week, former Vice-President Cheney has reiterated his support of water boarding for High Value Detainees and Obama has demonstrated a sharp policy difference. Obama maintains a high moral ground by banning the U.S. use of harsh techniques, but then allows other countries to use even harsher techniques and then provide the information to the U.S.

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