Senate Intelligence Committee's Report Into CIA Torture Reveals Horrific Brutality And Deceit
Horrific Brutality And Deceit Detailed In CIA Torture Report
Paul Vale— The Huffington Post UK
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NEW YORK – The result of a five-year Senate investigation into the CIA’s secret interrogations of terrorism suspects following the 9/11 attacks has revealed a staggering level of brutality and violence carried out by members of the US intelligence community.
The scathing summary reveals details of the CIA's "enhanced interrogation program" instituted during the George W. Bush administration, which involved shipping terrorism suspects to secret overseas prisons, where they were subjected to torture including waterboarding, which resulted in “a series of near drownings”.
Contrary to previous CIA disclosures, the study reveals that waterboarding was likely used on more than three detainees, with materials such as buckets and water found at blacksites the agency had previously stated were not used for waterboarding.
Detainees were also subjected to threats of sexual violence using a broomstick and the use of "rectal hydration", with interrogations lasting days or even weeks. Food was also delivered rectally to break hunger strikes. Mock executions, prolonged sleep deprivation, stress positions and other forms of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment were also commonplace.
The report also alleges that CIA officials deceived the White House and members of Congress into the details of the interrogation programme, while disclosing all 119 prisoners held by the CIA as terror suspects, including 26 who were held due to bad intelligence or mistaken identity.
The investigation concludes that the torture programme did not yield results, and that “enhanced interrogation techniques” produced no breakthroughs in intelligence.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the intelligence panel, said in a statement on Tuesday: "The committee reviewed 20 of the most frequent and prominent examples of purported counterterrorism 'successes' that the CIA has attributed to the use of its enhanced interrogation techniques. Each of those examples was found to be wrong in fundamental respects."
The study adds that as the techniques were ineffective, the CIA routinely lied to Congress and the White House in presentations that claimed that torture had contributed to intelligence victories. The study also refutes the CIA assertion that torture provided the key information for bringing about the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Following publication of the summary, the CIA moved to refute Feinstein's conclusions, publishing a 100-page rebuttal that argued for the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation.
“The sum total of information provided from detainees in CIA custody substantially advanced the Agency’s strategic and tactical understanding of the enemy in ways that continue to inform counterterrorism efforts to this day," said the agency.
“It is impossible to imagine how CIA could have achieved the same results in terms of disrupting plots, capturing other terrorists, and degrading al Qaida without any information from detainees, but it is unknowable whether, without enhanced interrogation techniques, CIA or non-CIA interrogators could have acquired the same information from those detainees."
In his official response, CIA Director John Brennan said on Tuesday: "In carrying out that program, we did not always live up to the high standards that we set for ourselves and that the American people expect of us. As an agency, we have learned from these mistakes, which is why my predecessors and I have implemented various remedial measures over the years to address institutional deficiencies."
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Senator Feinstein delivered the scathing report on Tuesday
The report also revealed how the CIA falsely claimed it had thwarted a terror plot in the UK. The summary said the capture of al Qaida's UK operational manager Dhiren Barot is one of the CIA's eight most frequently cited examples of how using interrogation methods can "save lives".
However, a review of CIA operational cables and other documents found that the Agency's interrogation techniques did not lead to the intelligence that it claimed led to the arrest of Barot or the thwarting of his plotting. Instead, the report said, the disruption of the plot and the identification and arrest of Barot was "attributable to the efforts of UK law enforcement".
Barot was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in 2006 to life, with a minimum term of 30 years, for planning to plant radioactive, chemical or toxic gas bombs and pack limousines with nails and explosives in the UK and America.
Responding to the summary, President Barack Obama released a statement calling the report "troubling" and "inconsistent with our values as nation".
He said: "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 counterterrorism efforts or our national security interests."
"That is why I will continue to use my authority as President to make sure we never resort to those methods again," Obama added.
Speaking after talks with the Turkish prime minister in Ankara, the Prime Minister said: "Let's be clear: torture is wrong; torture is always wrong." He added: "In Britain we have had the Gibson Inquiry and that inquiry has now produced a series of questions that the Intelligence and Security Committee will look at.
"But I am satisfied that our system is dealing with all these issues and I, as Prime Minister, have issued guidance to all of our agents and others working around the world about how they have to handle these issues in future."
Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti said: "The breadth and brutality of CIA torture is laid bare - can our own authorities keep averting their eyes? Still no sign of a judge-led inquiry into UK involvement in this shameful scandal - instead the Government's new Bill furnishes the agencies with more powers to leave Britons vulnerable to torture abroad."
Amnesty International Americas Director Erika Guevara Rosas said: "This report provides yet more damning detail of some of the human rights violations that were authorised by the highest authorities in the USA after 9/11.
"The declassified information contained in the summary, while limited, are a reminder to the world of the utter failure of the USA to end the impunity enjoyed by those who authorised and used torture and other ill-treatment.
"This is a wake-up call to the USA, they must disclose the full truth about the human rights violations, hold perpetrators accountable and ensure justice for the victims. This is not a policy nicety, it is a requirement under international law.”
The summary was released on Tuesday, despite appeals from within the Obama administration and from members of the Republicans Party to delay the publication over fears it would incite violence around the world.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed in a briefing on Monday that the report would be released, adding: "The timing of the release is something that has always been up to the committee. This is a decision that they have made."
The spokesman said that US embassies around the globe had been put on high alert in anticipation of the report’s publication, with “some indications” that there would be blowback, particularly in countries where CIA torture was carried out.
The committee voted in April to make details of the report public, sparking an eight-month political battle between the CIA, the White house and members of the Senate panel as to how much information should be declassified. An agreement was finally reached last week.
The CIA said that it had made preparations for the reports publication by issuing warnings to personnel overseas, as well as aiding current and former staff should they be identified in the report.
On Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Senator Feinstein asking for a delay the summary’s publication, a plea that the intelligence panel ignored.
Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)(01 of15)
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“As we have both stated before, we are opposed to this study and believe it will present serious consequences for U.S. national security. Regardless of what one’s opinions may be on these issues, the study by Senate Democrats is an ideologically motivated and distorted recounting of historical events. The fact that the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation program developed significant intelligence that helped us identify and capture important al-Qa’ida terrorists, disrupt their ongoing plotting, and take down Usama Bin Ladin is incontrovertible. Claims included in this report that assert the contrary are simply wrong.” (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
President Barack Obama(02 of15)
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"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 counterterrorism efforts or our national security interests. Moreover, these techniques did significant damage to America’s standing in the world and made it harder to pursue our interests with allies and partners. That is why I will continue to use my authority as President to make sure we never resort to those methods again." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen Mark Udall (D-Colo.)(03 of15)
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"We can protect our national security without compromising who we are as Americans. This landmark study — and the millions of pages of agency documents and testimony it is based upon — shows that torture is not effective and does not make us safer." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)(04 of15)
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“The revelations contained in this report are truly horrifying, and I appreciate my colleagues’ work to make sure the American people finally know the truth. Torturing people not only violates our laws, it violates our country’s most basic values. This dark period in our history and the grave errors in judgment made by key leaders in our government must never be repeated.” (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine)(05 of15)
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“Despite the unquestionable professionalism of the vast majority of CIA personnel, the study demonstrates that the detention and interrogation program was mismanaged, that some within the leadership of the CIA actively impeded congressional oversight, and that agency officials misrepresented the program’s effectiveness." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)(06 of15)
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“I joined the Senate Intelligence Committee after this report was completed, and I share concerns about the process for developing it. However, the report raises serious concerns about the CIA’s management of this detention and interrogation program and the treatment of certain detainees. Torture is wrong and fundamentally contrary to American values. The report should be made public to allow the American people to reach their own conclusions and to make sure lessons are learned from the mistakes made so that they never happen again.” (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)(07 of15)
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“After years of effort and millions of documents reviewed, the Senate report at last lays out in painstaking detail how the CIA under President Bush and Vice President Cheney turned down the dark path to torture, and then to cover its tracks misled Congress and executive officials about the efficacy of the torture program. These are hard facts to face as Americans, but it’s important that the facts be known. Chairman Feinstein and our Intelligence Committee staff deserve our country's deep appreciation for their extraordinary efforts.” (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)(08 of15)
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"This is how we, as Americans, make our nation stronger. When we realize there is a problem we seek the evidence, we study it, we learn from it, and then we set about to enact change. Americans must learn from our mistakes – as we did with the Pentagon papers, the Iran-Contra affair, and more recently, Abu Ghraib. I believe that the United States can protect our national security without resorting to methods, like torture, that are contrary to our fundamental values. I call upon the Administration, the Intelligence Community, and my colleagues in Congress to join me in that commitment." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Secretary of State John Kerry(09 of15)
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Release of this report affirms again that one of America's strengths is our democratic system’s ability to recognize and wrestle with our own history, acknowledge mistakes, and correct course. This marks a coda to a chapter in our history. President Obama turned the page on these policies when he took office and during week one banned the use of torture and closed the detention and interrogation program. It was right to end these practices for a simple but powerful reason: they were at odds with our values. They are not who we are, and they're not who or what we had to become, because the most powerful country on earth doesn't have to choose between protecting our security and promoting our values. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)(10 of15)
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"Those who served us in aftermath of 9/11 deserve our thanks not one sided partisan Senate report that now places American lives in danger." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)(11 of15)
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"Torture, covert wars, and illegal surveillance more often than not harm, not enhance, our national security. America cannot be the world’s leader on civil liberties and human rights if our actions don’t match our rhetoric. When this gulf exists between what we claim to stand for, and what the world sees us do, it creates bulletin board material for extremist groups in their effort to recruit against us." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)(12 of15)
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“The CIA developed the Detention and Interrogation Program in a time of great fear, anxiety and unprecedented crisis; but it is at these times of crisis when we need sound judgment, excellence, and professionalism from the CIA the most. When mistakes are made, they call for self-reflection and scrutiny. For that process to begin, we first have to make sure there is an accurate public record of what happened. The public release of the Executive Summary and Findings and Conclusions is a tremendous and consequential step toward that goal.” (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.)(13 of15)
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“The release of today's report has been controversial, but it's an important step forward in addressing a stain on our nation’s history. While we can understand the intelligence community’s desire to prevent another attack, a civilized nation should never resort to torture in the name of security. My hope is that this report informs future generations of Americans and ensures that we never undertake programs like this again.” (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.)(14 of15)
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“As these acts are violations of both American law and morality, we must hold those accountable and prevent such abuses from happening in the future." (credit:Andrew Burton via Getty Images)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)(15 of15)
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“To those who question whether the release of this report threatens our national security, I have but one thing to say: Living up to the core principles and beliefs that make this country great is in our national interest. It is only by building international credibility with the rest of the world that we will ever be confident about our national security here at home.” (credit:Bill Clark via Getty Images)