Senate Committee Report: CIA Torture Hurt America's Reputation, Did Not Help Acquire Intel
A copy of the conclusions of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the CIA's interrogation and detention program, which began after the 9/11 attacks and ended in 2006, has been leaked.
The classified report is 6,300 pages long and questions the legal foundation for the use of waterboarding and other so-called "enhanced interrogation" techniques, arguing that the techniques were not approved by the Department of Justice or CIA headquarters.
An unnamed former U.S. official told McClatchyDC, which obtained the leaked conclusions, that the CIA's claim that around 30 detainees were subjected to such treatment "is BS," and that, "they are trying to say it was a very targeted program, but that's not the case."
Among the committee investigation's findings are the following:
The CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques did not effectively assist the agency in acquiring intelligence or in gaining cooperation from detainees.
The CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques was brutal and far worse than the agency communicated to policymakers.
The CIA manipulated the media by coordinating the release of classified information, which inaccurately portrayed the effectiveness of the agency's enhanced interrogation techniques.
The CIA manipulated the media by coordinating the release of classified information, which inaccurately portrayed the effectiveness of the agency's enhanced interrogation techniques.
Read the full list of findings below:
Last month, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) accused the CIA of spying on computers being used in the investigation. CIA Director John Brennan denied that the agency had hacked into Senate computers.
The Senate Intelligence Committee voted earlier this month to declassify a 480 page summary of the report.
