Tortured Reasoning

The Right Approach to Rough Treatment

Jonathan Rauch | September 25, 2006

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The result is that administrations think twice about any operation they would have trouble defending on Capitol Hill. Congress has both the opportunity and the responsibility to squawk if the CIA goes too far. Not least important, a congressional sign-off ensures that the CIA is not hung out to dry if an operation fails or proves unpopular.

The system works, and, with some adaptations, would work just as well for coercive interrogation. If the need to water-board a senior Qaeda operative is compelling, the president should be willing to make a finding that tells the Intelligence committees what the government needs to do and why. If the committees object, chances are the public would, too.

The administration says, "The chairs, ranking members, and majority and minority staff directors of the Intelligence committees were fully briefed on the interrogation procedures" as the CIA created its system in 2002. A Senate staffer confirmed that the program "was properly notified to the committee," though Wendy Morigi, a spokeswoman for Rockefeller, said that he "was denied documents and information that we needed to fully evaluate the program."

Voluntary blanket disclosure is good, but it is no substitute for legal assurance that the president and Congress know and approve of every particular case of coercion. To keep everyone honest, I would add another layer of accountability: Every so often, the government would report to the public on how many people it roughed up over a given period, in what fashion, and why. Even with sensitive particulars redacted, a general description would force politicians to confront the public. More important, it would force the public to confront its conscience.

Coercive interrogation is a form of deliberate abuse that treats human beings not as ends in themselves but as means to an end. For a democracy founded on the promise of equal and unalienable human rights, there is no graver compromise. If the country needs to make this compromise—as I and, apparently, most Americans think it does—it needs to look its behavior squarely in the eye.

© Copyright 2006 National Journal

Jonathan Rauch is a senior writer and columnist for National Journal and a frequent contributor to Reason. The article was originally published by National Journal.