Today's Article
'The summary
documents ...
demonstrates US
officials’ knowledge that
it was illegal,' added
Human Rights Watch.
documents ...
demonstrates US
officials’ knowledge that
it was illegal,' added
Human Rights Watch.
The American Spark
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Feds Should Investigate Senior CIA Officials, Says Rights Group
By Cliff Montgomery - Dec. 24th, 2014
Numerous people and organizations have commented on the recent release of a now-infamous summary to a
Senate Report on CIA torture techniques. Perhaps none of these comments has been more damning than the
one released by Human Rights Watch on Dec. 10th.
The Senate “report summary on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention and interrogation program is
a powerful denunciation of the agency’s extensive and systematic use of torture,” Human Rights Watch
declared in a statement.
“The summary documents numerous misrepresentations the CIA made about the program’s effectiveness
and demonstrates US officials’ knowledge that it was illegal,” added the rights organization.
“Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement
to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all,” the group - which is one of the best
known and most respected rights organizations - points out in its mission statement.
Below, The American Spark quotes major segments of the release:
“The US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report summary on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention
and interrogation program is a powerful denunciation of the agency’s extensive and systematic use of torture,
Human Rights Watch said today.
“The 525-page partially redacted summary, released on December 9, 2014, is part of a 6,700-page classified
report that the committee has still not indicated it plans to release.
“The summary documents numerous misrepresentations the CIA made about the program’s effectiveness
and demonstrates US officials’ knowledge that it was illegal. It [also] underscores the need for the US
government to promptly release the full report, bolster oversight of the CIA, and investigate and appropriately
prosecute the senior officials responsible for the torture program, Human Rights Watch said.
“ ‘The Senate report should not be relegated to a shelf or hard drive but be the basis for criminal investigations
on the use of torture by US officials,’ said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“ ‘The failure of the Obama administration to hold those responsible for torture to account risks leaving torture
as a policy option when the next inevitable security threat strikes.’
Nature and Scope of the Abuses
“The summary concludes that CIA abuses were far more brutal, systematic, and widespread than previously
reported; that many of the CIA’s interrogation techniques went beyond even those authorized by the Justice
Department; and that the CIA began using the techniques long before they had obtained authorization for
them.
“The summary describes many previously reported facts about the CIA torture program, including the
agency’s use of painful stress positions, forced standing, extended sleep deprivation, extensive bright light
and loud noise exposure, waterboarding, and throwing detainees against walls or closing them into coffins.
“It also contains new details showing that CIA torture was even more brutal than previously thought. The
agency used painful restraints, imposed punitive ‘anal feeding’ or ‘anal rehydration,’ and forced detainees with
broken leg bones to stand shackled against walls.
“The tactics took a heavy toll on the detainees, especially when combined with sleep deprivation and isolation
and used over long periods. One detainee is described as ‘clearly a broken man,’ another ‘on the verge of a
complete breakdown.’ [...]
CIA Knew the Techniques Were Illegal
“The report reveals new evidence that the CIA was well aware of the illegality of the techniques it was
employing. On page 33, the summary notes that senior lawyers at the CIA internally circulated a draft letter to
Attorney General John Ashcroft dated July 8, 2002, expressly acknowledging that the interrogation tactics that
came to be known as ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ violated the US Torture Statute.
“The draft – it is unclear if it was ever sent – requested that the Justice Department provide the CIA with ‘a
formal declination of prosecution, in advance.’ That is, the CIA sought a promise from the Justice Department
never to prosecute – or immunity.
“This document contradicts previous CIA officials’ claims that they did not know whether the tactics were legal
and that they relied on guidance from Justice Department legal counsel in good faith. Instead, the document
makes clear that senior CIA officials knew their tactics were illegal, and were trying to create some form of
legal cover for those actions.
“When their efforts to obtain an advance declination failed, they sought and procured another form of cover
through a series of legal memos – the so-called ‘Torture Memos’ – drafted by the Justice Department’s Office
of Legal Counsel and the White House counsel beginning in August 2002, which purported to authorize the
techniques.
“Various current and former CIA officials have tried to justify the use of abusive practices against detainees by
relying on these memos. The new evidence that the CIA knew about the illegality of the techniques undercuts
any claim by senior CIA officials that they were simply relying in good faith on legal guidance, Human Rights
Watch said.
“Moreover, the memos were not an honest assessment of the law proscribing torture as well as cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment but a twisted effort to justify the unjustifiable. It has been a major failing of
justice that the lawyers who provided legal cover for this torture program, becoming accomplices in its
illegality, have not faced disciplinary or criminal consequences, Human Rights Watch said.
“ ‘It’s now clear that senior CIA officials knew from the beginning that the techniques they were using were
illegal,’ Roth said. ‘It is the height of cynicism for the CIA to continue appealing to the ‘Torture Memos’ as if it
relied in good faith on their legal rationalizations.’ ”
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering a story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - Dec. 24th, 2014
Numerous people and organizations have commented on the recent release of a now-infamous summary to a
Senate Report on CIA torture techniques. Perhaps none of these comments has been more damning than the
one released by Human Rights Watch on Dec. 10th.
The Senate “report summary on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention and interrogation program is
a powerful denunciation of the agency’s extensive and systematic use of torture,” Human Rights Watch
declared in a statement.
“The summary documents numerous misrepresentations the CIA made about the program’s effectiveness
and demonstrates US officials’ knowledge that it was illegal,” added the rights organization.
“Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement
to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all,” the group - which is one of the best
known and most respected rights organizations - points out in its mission statement.
Below, The American Spark quotes major segments of the release:
“The US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report summary on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention
and interrogation program is a powerful denunciation of the agency’s extensive and systematic use of torture,
Human Rights Watch said today.
“The 525-page partially redacted summary, released on December 9, 2014, is part of a 6,700-page classified
report that the committee has still not indicated it plans to release.
“The summary documents numerous misrepresentations the CIA made about the program’s effectiveness
and demonstrates US officials’ knowledge that it was illegal. It [also] underscores the need for the US
government to promptly release the full report, bolster oversight of the CIA, and investigate and appropriately
prosecute the senior officials responsible for the torture program, Human Rights Watch said.
“ ‘The Senate report should not be relegated to a shelf or hard drive but be the basis for criminal investigations
on the use of torture by US officials,’ said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“ ‘The failure of the Obama administration to hold those responsible for torture to account risks leaving torture
as a policy option when the next inevitable security threat strikes.’
Nature and Scope of the Abuses
“The summary concludes that CIA abuses were far more brutal, systematic, and widespread than previously
reported; that many of the CIA’s interrogation techniques went beyond even those authorized by the Justice
Department; and that the CIA began using the techniques long before they had obtained authorization for
them.
“The summary describes many previously reported facts about the CIA torture program, including the
agency’s use of painful stress positions, forced standing, extended sleep deprivation, extensive bright light
and loud noise exposure, waterboarding, and throwing detainees against walls or closing them into coffins.
“It also contains new details showing that CIA torture was even more brutal than previously thought. The
agency used painful restraints, imposed punitive ‘anal feeding’ or ‘anal rehydration,’ and forced detainees with
broken leg bones to stand shackled against walls.
“The tactics took a heavy toll on the detainees, especially when combined with sleep deprivation and isolation
and used over long periods. One detainee is described as ‘clearly a broken man,’ another ‘on the verge of a
complete breakdown.’ [...]
CIA Knew the Techniques Were Illegal
“The report reveals new evidence that the CIA was well aware of the illegality of the techniques it was
employing. On page 33, the summary notes that senior lawyers at the CIA internally circulated a draft letter to
Attorney General John Ashcroft dated July 8, 2002, expressly acknowledging that the interrogation tactics that
came to be known as ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ violated the US Torture Statute.
“The draft – it is unclear if it was ever sent – requested that the Justice Department provide the CIA with ‘a
formal declination of prosecution, in advance.’ That is, the CIA sought a promise from the Justice Department
never to prosecute – or immunity.
“This document contradicts previous CIA officials’ claims that they did not know whether the tactics were legal
and that they relied on guidance from Justice Department legal counsel in good faith. Instead, the document
makes clear that senior CIA officials knew their tactics were illegal, and were trying to create some form of
legal cover for those actions.
“When their efforts to obtain an advance declination failed, they sought and procured another form of cover
through a series of legal memos – the so-called ‘Torture Memos’ – drafted by the Justice Department’s Office
of Legal Counsel and the White House counsel beginning in August 2002, which purported to authorize the
techniques.
“Various current and former CIA officials have tried to justify the use of abusive practices against detainees by
relying on these memos. The new evidence that the CIA knew about the illegality of the techniques undercuts
any claim by senior CIA officials that they were simply relying in good faith on legal guidance, Human Rights
Watch said.
“Moreover, the memos were not an honest assessment of the law proscribing torture as well as cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment but a twisted effort to justify the unjustifiable. It has been a major failing of
justice that the lawyers who provided legal cover for this torture program, becoming accomplices in its
illegality, have not faced disciplinary or criminal consequences, Human Rights Watch said.
“ ‘It’s now clear that senior CIA officials knew from the beginning that the techniques they were using were
illegal,’ Roth said. ‘It is the height of cynicism for the CIA to continue appealing to the ‘Torture Memos’ as if it
relied in good faith on their legal rationalizations.’ ”
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering a story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
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