Senate Report on CIA's 'Enhanced Interrogation' of Terrorism Suspects

A report from the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee indicates that the techniques used in the 'enhanced interrogation' of detainees by the CIA were ineffective and never led to obtaining information to counter terrorist plots. Released on Tuesday, December 9, the report accuses the Central Intelligence Agency of misleading the public and decision-makers about the 'enhanced interrogation' program, much of which was developed, executed, and planned by two contractors outside the agency. The U.S. Senate has accused the CIA of conducting interrogations that were more brutal than it has admitted. The program was implemented between 2002 and 2006 and involved the interrogation of al-Qaeda detainees and other prisoners accused of terrorism worldwide. This 500-page report is a summary of a complete 6,700-page report detailing the Senate's findings on the illegal interrogation methods used on suspects of al-Qaeda membership from the post-September 11 terrorist attacks until 2009. The report states that 119 suspects were held in CIA detention facilities in other countries, and at least 39 of them were subjected to illegal methods, including simulated drowning and threats of death. The CIA also provided extensive misinformation in response to White House inquiries, and some interrogation documents and videos were destroyed. The report concludes that harsh and illegal interrogation methods were unsuccessful in gathering intelligence. This report is the result of five years of investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee into this program, aimed at extracting information from al-Qaeda prisoners and other detainees in facilities worldwide. The CIA and other senior U.S. government officials have claimed that the program was effective and led to the discovery of several terrorist plots. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama reacted to the report, stating that the torture of al-Qaeda members by the CIA was 'against our values.' He stated, 'For this reason, when I took office, I explicitly banned torture because one of the effective tools in the fight against terrorism and ensuring the security of Americans is adherence to our ideals.' Obama emphasized that 'harsh interrogation methods will no longer be employed, and the techniques used by the CIA harm U.S. interests abroad without aiding counter-terrorism efforts.' The President expressed hope that the Senate report 'can help us abandon these techniques that were used in the past.' Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also criticized the interrogation methods, calling them 'a stain on our values and our history.' On the other hand, a group of Republicans in the U.S. expressed opposition to the report's release. Among them, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, along with Saxby Chambliss, another Republican senator, criticized the report's publication and expressed concern about its repercussions. Senator Chambliss, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, stated in a rebuttal that the report creates 'the false impression that the CIA was actively misleading policymakers and hindering the counter-terrorism efforts of other federal agencies during the program's execution.' According to American media, six of the seven Republican senators on the committee stated in a report, 'We have no doubt that the CIA's detention programs saved many lives and played a vital role in weakening al-Qaeda while they were in effect.' Dick Cheney, Vice President under George W. Bush, described claims that the CIA overstepped boundaries or that the interrogations were a nefarious program as 'a bunch of nonsense' in an interview with The New York Times. MSNBC reported that Cheney had not read the released report. However, John McCain, a Republican senator, was among those who did not align with many of his party members, criticizing the torture methods and stating on the Senate floor that the torture 'not only failed to achieve its goal of preventing further attacks against the U.S. and our allies, but actually jeopardized our security interests and our reputation as a force for good in the world.' In anticipation of the Senate report's release regarding interrogation methods at the CIA, security measures at U.S. diplomatic centers worldwide were heightened. The White House announced on Monday that embassies and other U.S. bases had taken precautionary measures due to 'some evidence of greater risks.'