A Senate report released December 9 claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency not only used counter productive torture methods on suspected terrorists but kept the details from the public. Some prisoners were deprived of sleep and inflicted with waterboarding nonstop over long periods of time, methods the report said did not prevent terrorism or reveal the identities of top al Qaeda members. In response, the CIA said the report’s conclusions were flawed and that “it was ‘unknowable’ whether it could have received the same information from terror suspects using alternative methods.” (CNN, December 9, 2014, by Stephen Collinson and Evan Perez)
Republican leaders opposed releasing the Senate report arguing that publishing a detailed account of the brutal methods used by the Bush CIA could incite violence resulting in American deaths. Terrorist organizations are expected to use the report as part of their propaganda. But White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said it was the right time for the report,”The president believes it is important for us to be as transparent as we possibly can about what exactly transpired, so we can just be clear to the American public and people around the world that something like this should not happen again.” (The New York Times, Tuesday, December 9, 2014, by Mark Landler and Peter Baker)
The American Civil Liberties Union released a plan for full accountability saying, “This is a shocking report, and it is impossible to read it without feeling immense outrage that our government engaged in these terrible crimes. This report definitively drags into the light the horrific details of illegal torture, details that both the Bush and Obama administrations have worked hard to sweep under the rug. The government officials who authorized illegal activity need to be held accountable.” (ACLU, December 9, 2014, press release)