CIA Lied and Lied About Torture, Says Report

More details from Senate Intelligence Committee report coming to light
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2014 6:23 AM CDT
Updated Apr 1, 2014 7:57 AM CDT
Report: CIA Used Tactic Akin to Waterboarding
This is a 1979 file photo of CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., seen from an aerial view.   (AP Photo, File)

Yesterday, congressional staffers dished to the AP about some of the overarching findings of a contentious Senate Intelligence Committee report—namely, that the CIA's use of torture played no role in finding Osama bin Laden, for all the agency's previous declarations to the contrary. The Washington Post follows that up with a deeper dive into the 6,300-page document, by way of officials who have seen it and say that the CIA's deception—to both the government and the public—is extensive. Per the Post, the CIA wasn't truthful about the severity of its interrogation methods, which were so extreme that some employees went so far as to leave a "black site" in Thailand in protest of the tactics being used there.

The report describes a method allegedly used that's akin to waterboarding and not Justice Department-approved: dunking a suspect in an ice-water-filled tub between beatings. Two other detainees were subjected to similar methods; the CIA has maintained it only waterboarded three suspects. The report also presents cases in which CIA bigwigs allegedly ordered enhanced interrogation techniques to continue in the face of analysts' assertions that the prisoners had no other intel to give up. But the Post says its sources found the most damaging portion of the report to actually be its findings about CIA exaggeration and deceit, with the agency repeatedly describing detainees as "masterminds" and "senior operatives" when that wasn't in fact the case. The CIA says it hasn't yet seen the final report and had no comment; it could be months before the public actually gets to review a declassified portion. (More CIA stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X