Pax on both houses: Torture Report Articles (Great Wonkblog Compendium)

Cheney Calls For International Ban On Terror Reports

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/12/dick-cheney-textbook-definition-of.html

1. Misrepresentations and failures

"Dysfunction, disorganization, incompetence, greed and deception... In more than 500 pages, the summary, released on Tuesday, paints a devastating picture of an agency that was ill equipped to take on the task of questioning Al Qaeda suspects, bungled the job and then misrepresented the results." Scott Shane in The New York Times.

Primary sources: The report; the CIA's response.

To design the program, the CIA relied on two contractors with no experience. The psychologists were paid $81 million, although they had no knowledge of counterterrorism, al-Qaeda or any other qualifications to speak of. Robert Windrem for NBC.

The evidence that led the CIA to Osama bin Laden did not come from torture. The agency found bin Laden's courier through a combination of digital surveillance, spycraft and information one man gave them before they began torturing him. Zack Beauchamp at Vox.

Michael Hayden gave inaccurate or misleading testimony to Congress. In classified briefings, the former director of the agency assured lawmakers that detainees would not be waterboarded more than four hours a day, that detainees would not be forced to defecate in diapers and that no detainee was seriously injured. These assurances and others were untrue. One detainee died in custody, possibly of hypothermia. Denise Lu, Swati Sharma and Christina Rivero in The Washington Post.

Some detainees were subjected to involuntary rectal feeding. The antiquated technique is typically used on patients who cannot feed themselves but urgently need to eat, such as a hiker who was rescued in the Nepalese mountains a few years ago. But agency employees used it as a form of torture. Brady Dennis inThe Washington Post.

What's not in the report are questions about whether the program was legal or ethical. "The Senate text is largely aimed at shaping how the interrogation program will be regarded by history. The inquiry was driven by Feinstein and her frequently stated determination to foreclose any prospect that the United States might contemplate such tactics again. Rather than argue their morality, Feinstein set out to prove that they did not work." Greg Miller, Adam Goldman and Julie Tate in The Washington Post.

2. Moving forward

Fifty-four countries around the world assisted in the U.S. program of torture and rendition. Here's a map. Max Fisher at Vox.

But European courts might try to prosecute Bush administration officials. The legal principle of universal jurisdiction gives courts worldwide the authority to prosecute certain violations. For example, a Spanish court indicted Chilean dictator Augosto Pinochet in 1998. Eli Lake and Josh Rogin for Bloomberg.

No one at the CIA will be prosecuted. A legal memorandum from Bush's White House advancing a radical theory of executive power under which the president could ignore Supreme Court precedent and acts of Congress will protect employees of the agency from criminal prosecution, who can claim they thought their actions were lawful. Noah Feldman for Bloomberg.

Nor is the CIA likely to lose its power or influence in U.S. government. The agency's history is riddled with scandals and failures, from the Bay of Pigs onward. "The Senate report is a substantial blow to the CIA’s reputation, one that raises fundamental questions about the extent to which the agency can be trusted. And yet, as in those previous instances of political and public outrage, the agency is expected to emerge from the investigatory rubble with its role and power in Washington largely intact." Greg Miller and Dana Priest in The Washington Post.

3. Looking back

Committee staff spent seven years working on the project. Two aides in particular sorted through reams of documents, despite the agency's opposition and the political sensitivity of their work. Adam Goldman and Ellen Nakashima in The Washington Post.

President Obama must confront an old political problem once again. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) suggested the president form a truth-and-reconciliation commission like the one South Africa established after apartheid. Others suggested the executive branch issue its own report. Obama rejected these proposals, wanting to avoid divisive hearings and to leave the past behind. Now it's returned. Steven Mufson in The Washington Post.

The program dates to Sept. 17, 2001. That's when Bush authorized the CIA to capture and interrogate suspected terrorists. Here's a timeline. Julie Tate in The Washington Post.

4. Taking stock

The CIA "stained our national honor," Sen. John McCain said. The Republican from Arizona was tortured as a prisoner of the Viet Cong in Hanoi. The Economist.

FRIEDMAN: Torture is itself a danger to American society. Part of what makes us Americans and what earns us the admiration of people around the world is our respect for civil liberties and our ability to confront our failures. The New York Times.

Former employees and some Republican lawmakers are defending the agency. They say the committee, which was able to review documents but not to interview employees, committed errors of fact and that the report emphasizes the agency's failures while ignoring its successes. Scott Shane in The New York Times.

Obama should have brought the torture "into a courtroom." Instead, he wrongly chose to not to punish those who had been involved. The New York Times.

Waterboarding. During waterboarding, water fills a subject's nose, mouth, and throat, and the subject cannot breathe. The subject does not drown, however, because his upper body is inclined toward his head and the water does not reach his lungs. The Washington Post.

"Cheney Calls For International Ban On Torture Reports"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/12/dick-cheney-textbook-definition-of.html