Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report Tuesday that accused the CIA of going beyond the law after the 9-11 attacks, arguing the intelligence agency's interrogation techniques were akin to torture.
"The implications of this report are profound," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "Not only is torture wrong, but it doesn't work."
Others from Reid's side of the aisle joined in, as Democrats released an over 500 page summary of CIA interrogations.
You can read the entire report from Democrats on the webste of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The report found the CIA used techniques like waterboarding, sleep deprivation for up to 180 hours, ice water baths and rectal rehydration to try to draw out intelligence from detainees.
While Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) joined Democrats in denouncing the CIA, most Republicans hit back at Democrats, accusing them of a partisan, biased report.
The top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), reissued a statement from back in August, as he labeled the report, an "ideologically motivated, distorted recounting of events."
As for the Intelligence Community, the CIA Director took pains to say that he disagreed with the findings of Democrats on some points, noting the last time waterboarding was used was in March 2003.
"The Attorney General later reaffirmed the legality of the technique despite the intensity of use, but the medical concerns, combined with CIA's increasing knowledge base, its improving skill using less coercive techniques, and the move of al-Qa'ida's senior leaders beyond its reach, ended the use of this technique," said the CIA in its own 125 page response.
As for the response of the intelligence community, some foreign policy experts said it was quickly obvious which way that was running.
About the Author
