by Nomad
No nation is perfect. But one of the strengths that makes America exceptional is our willingness to openly confront our past, face our imperfections, make changes and do better. -- President Obama on the release of Senate Intelligence Committee's CIA use of enhanced interrogation techniques
This week, in the hallowed halls of Congress, a moan and a shudder could be heard when the Senate released its findings on the truly horrifying excesses of CIA interrogations used upon suspected terrorists following the 911 attacks.
The Narrative Dissolves
A quick review of the 600-page executive summary of the report explained why Republicans had been doing all they could to block its release. From torture techniques that involved threats to suspect's children and forced enemas, ice water baths and threats to use drills as torture devices, to CIA lies about the successes, the report could hardly be more damaging to the Republican narrative.
The New York Times has helpfully made a list of the most important findings:
- The C.I.A.’s interrogation techniques were more brutal and employed more extensively than the agency portrayed.
- The C.I.A. interrogation program was mismanaged and was not subject to adequate oversight.
- The C.I.A. misled members of Congress and the White House about the effectiveness and extent of its brutal interrogation techniques.
- Interrogators in the field who tried to stop the brutal techniques were repeatedly overruled by senior C.I.A. officials.
- The C.I.A. repeatedly under-reported the number of people it detained and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques under the program.
- At least 26 detainees were wrongfully held and did not meet the government’s standard for detention.
- The C.I.A. leaked classified information to journalists, exaggerating the success of interrogation methods in an effort to gain public support.
- Of the 119 CIA detainees, 26 should not have been apprehended.
- Abu Zubaida, the CIA's first detainee, spent 266 hours in a coffin-size confinement box.
- Of the at least 26 detainees who were wrongfully held, one was "intellectually challenged."
- CIA officers would "strip a detainee naked, shackle him in the standing position for up to 72 hours, and douse [him] repeatedly with cold water."
For the more cynical, the fact that the report was released at all is a bit of a shock. Certainly it is long overdue and could easily have been classified so utterly that the American public- at least this generation- would never have seen it.
Its release also turns the tables on a lot of the Republican talking points about exposing the imaginary scandal of Benghazi.
