Explosive report on CIA brutality claims the agency mislead the Bush administrations without providing concrete results.
According to the report. the methods used were “deeply flawed,” poorly managed and often resulted in “fabricated” information.
The 480-page report, a summary of a still-classified 6,000 page study, purports that the CIA went above and beyond its mandate to use “enhanced interrogation techniques to prevent another 9/11 type attack.
Without getting into the graphic details of the report, I’ve chosen to focus on the reactions to its release.
Comments from the White House
Firstly, the executive branch, which ordered marines serving as embassy security to a higher level of security in anticipation of the reports release. Following the release the White House walked the line of supporting the report and praising those (CIA) who “have worked tirelessly to devastate core al Qaeda, deliver justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupt terrorist operations and thwart terrorist attacks.”
The president himself said, “Today’s report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence details one element of our nation’s response to 9/11—the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, which I formally ended on one of my first days in office. The report documents a troubling program involving enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects in secret facilities outside the United States, and it reinforces my long-held view that these harsh methods were not only inconsistent with our values as nation, they did not serve our broader counter-terrorism efforts or our national security interests.”
Cheney and opposition Senators speak
Quick to follow those remarks was former Vice President Dick Cheney who said,“I think that’s all a bunch of hooey. The program was authorized. The agency did not want to proceed without authorization, and it was also reviewed legally by the Justice Department before they undertook the program.”
Cheney continued apologetically with, “it was the right thing to do” before adding, “If I had to do it over again. I would do it.”
A number of Republican Senators chose not to miss their chance to get a little camera time by instilling fear in their constituents as well.
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, in a partisan statement on Monday, labeled the report a “partisan effort” by Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. They said that the report was neither “serious or constructive.”
“We are concerned that this release could endanger the lives of Americans overseas, jeopardize U.S. relations with foreign partners, potentially incite violence, create political problems for our allies, and be used as a recruitment tool for our enemies,” the senators said. The two continued with, “Simply put, this release is reckless and irresponsible.”
