Tuesday Declassified documents contain a brief summary of the Senate investigation, as well as the views of the Republican minority and separately – Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller. Republicans do not agree with the harsh conclusions of his fellow Democrats.
Recent headed by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California presented a total of 20 claims to the use of CIA “enhanced due diligence interrogation” (euphemistic expression meaning torture). Office reproached that these measures were not effective to gather information. In addition, the CIA was criticized for the fact that it is in their reports to the White House, Congress, the National Security Council introduced serve to mislead about the effectiveness of these methods. From inspection to hide and the impact on prisoners. Senate report estimated their number for the duration of the CIA program (from late 2001 to early 2009) to “enhanced interrogation measures” to 119 people. In this case, 26 people were detained by mistake.
From the attention of senators not disappeared and other unflattering details. For example, it turned out that the very methods of psychological and physical pressure on prisoners, have been developed by psychologists, previously collaborated with the School of survival in extreme conditions, the US Air Force (US Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape school). They did not have any experience or knowledge of interrogation of the “al-Qaeda”. In 2005, these two psychologists, whose names are not given, set up a private company, which the CIA and outsourced management of security interrogations. Already in 2006, the CIA has concluded with the company’s contracts totaling $ 180 million, and until 2009 it earned $ 81 million.
The total damage from the program “reinforced interrogation measures” Senators have estimated at least $ 300 million excluding staff costs. CIA allocated millions of dollars in cash to foreign governments to organize their territory “detention centers” (de facto – secret CIA prisons).
In addition, they concluded that because the program has suffered America’s reputation in the world, including human rights advocate damage to the image named in the “immeasurable».
The publication of such critical of the CIA documents itself was made possible after years of political battles, in which, as it is Strangely enough, there were no losers.
Political games
The investigation of “torture CIA” began in 2009 and lasted for about three years . Pushed him Senators scandal with the destruction of videotapes of interrogations commanders “of al-Qaeda.” According to Feinstein, this case is a prime example of how intelligence is trying to hide information (the other case – hacking computers and data deletion of an internal investigation of ex-CIA Director Leon Panetta). A month later his inauguration in 2009, the destruction of the films was confirmed by President Barack Obama – it gave the Senators a moral right and reason to start an investigation.
In spring 2002 at a secret CIA base in Thailand were filmed 92 films interrogation and torture Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri – close to Osama bin Laden and citizens of Saudi Arabia. In November 2005, The Washington Post first pointed to the existence of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. A few days later, after consulting with lawyers, the then deputy director of the CIA’s Jose Rodriguez gave the order to destroy the video.
The existence of films the general public learned in December 2007 of the investigation of The New York Times. In response to criticism from human rights activists, CIA Director Michael Hayden said that the existence of such records and the possibility of a leak posed a threat to her life sealed agents. At the same time under the leadership of US Department of Justice began a preliminary and then a criminal investigation into the destruction of films. In November 2010, the case was closed without bringing anyone charges.
Members of the Senate Committee of the Republican Party initially refused to participate in the investigation, and then criticized the resulting report. Deputy Feinstein Republican on the committee Seksbi Chemblis called the document “absolutely wrong.” “Democrats think that the so-called” enhanced interrogation techniques “applied to Guantanamo and other camps, but important information suspects and did not provide. This is not so, “- he said in an interview with CBS. Republicans also did not like the reluctance to talk to investigators CIA officers who sanctioned or participated in «reinforced interrogation techniques».
Initially planned to take on the Feinstein investigation about a year, but the process was delayed by her opinion, intelligence officials. Following the approval of the committee report the size of 6.7 thousand. Pages has been sent for approval to the CIA. The agency responded negatively about the report and demanded its completion. According to the NYT, the intelligence service sent to the Senate a letter of reply with detailed criticism of the investigation – in this appeal is still lying secrecy.
As a result, after one and a half years of consultations – in April 2014 – the part is still to come compromise. From the original text should be removed the names of agents, the names of secret prisons and solid amounts of information. By publication is an executive summary or facts, conclusions and dissenting opinions. The Committee voted in favor of a truncated version of the report – the size of “only” 528 pages – 11 votes to three.
The publication of the report’s findings supported not only by Democratic senators who worked on his drawing, but some Republicans. However, to change their position took some time.
House of Cards
The most striking example can be considered North Carolina Senator Richard Burr. He is the most likely successor as head of the Feinstein Intelligence Committee. At the end of 2012, he was against the publication of the Senate investigation, citing “his many mistakes.” But in April of this year, changed his mind. Now Burr called for the publication of materials that, in his words, “Let the Americans themselves to evaluate the arguments of all parties».
Tactical flexibility Berra – one indication that the Senate prepared a report on the activities of the CIA has long since turned into one of the subjects of political cabal two leading American parties, the intelligence community and the White House.
This is supported by the fact that the report was published almost two years after the decision of lawmakers to make it public. All this time, the senators discussed with the CIA and the White House conditions of its publication. While agreeing that the main conclusions is necessary to disclose, the White House has ordered a thorough inspection of materials that will be available to the public. Determine the degree of secrecy and the importance of the documents was entrusted to the CIA – the agency whose work was the subject of an investigation.
Shortly before the publication of documents Secretary of State John Kerry asked Feinstein to take into account that the publication of materials may pose a threat to the lives of American diplomats abroad. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch has regarded it as a final attempt to prevent the disclosure of scandalous administration materials.
Documents about the activities of US intelligence, even with cuts, are increasingly becoming available to the public . In June, the Obama administration released with cuts so-called “memorandum Barron.” Note prepared by the US Department of Justice expert, tried to legally justify the elimination of the leader of “al-Qaeda” in the Arabian Peninsula, Anwar al-Awlaki. The complexity of the situation is that al-Awlaki was a US citizen: his murder Americans formally constitute a criminal offense.
In an effort to prove the opposite, David Barron used in his memorandum legal loopholes and treated historical precedents. As a result, al-Awlaki was eliminated drone strike in September 2011. According to The New York Times, the document was “careless compilation of vague interpretations, which adapts to the desired result».
Fluctuations in the White House is easy to explain his ambiguous position. On the one hand, the Democrats and President Barack Obama personally perceived as criticism of controversial decisions of the previous Republican administration of George W. Bush in the field of anti-terrorism legislation. Become a “Republican right” for the Democrats is fraught with loss of popularity. On the other hand, the administration can not completely destroy their relationship with the intelligence community, which, despite all the criticism, works quite effectively. Finally, the publication of documents on secret prisons complicate Washington’s relations with its allies in Eastern Europe and in other important regions of the world.
not found justice
For all the political subtleties of the second plan moved the main issue of the Senate investigation, which excited the public, – the observance of basic human rights. And here it is not even about the specific abuses of the CIA or the entire department, and about the image of the United States as a model the rule of law.
According to the most Feinstein, the history of torture “should never, never, never again” . In a White House statement said the desire to show the world “American values».
In this investigation the Senate did not seek to identify the facts of criminal offenses and does not contain specific allegations. Formally, his main theme was to assess the level of awareness of the Bush administration and the CIA Congress.
However, the liberal media and human rights activists do not agree with this point of the investigation. British The Guardian, the authors of which traditionally are critical to a number of American laws, in late November, published an article that drew attention to the serious omission of the Senate investigation. It turned out that the report of torture, no one took the testimony of the victims of torture.
The investigation of the Senate at a cost of $ 40 million
It lasted three years,
The investigators viewed 6,000,000 pages of documents
The full version of the report is 6300 pages
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding 183 times
The Guardian also believes that the publication of the report will not help human rights defenders who are hoping to prosecute CIA officers involved in torture. The fact that the documents contain notes, and instead of names intelligence officers appear aliases. Office insisted on this because of fears for the safety of their agents.
«I quite obvious that the US government has no desire to conduct a thorough investigation and to establish those responsible for the torture of my client,” – said the publication of a lawyer detained on suspicion of organizing terrorist attacks of September 11 Walid bin Attash Cheryl Bormann. In this regard, The Guardian recalled that none of the employees, contractors or supervisors CIA prosecuted for torture. The exception was the contractor David Passaro, whose actions in relation to the Afghan detainee Abdul Wali led to the death of the last in 2003.
Earlier, the human rights organization American Civil Liberties Union reported that a court with the help of Freedom of Information Act (Freedom of Information Act) require disclosure of all 6300 pages of research of the Senate, the CIA notes with a justification of his actions and the results of the internal audit initiated by the former head of the department while Panetta. At the beginning of December 2014, ACLU has not yet managed to achieve the publication of documents – Defendants postpone their publication.
In announcing the facts of ill-treatment of prisoners and recognize the ineffectiveness of “biased” interrogation, the Senate with the tacit approval of the White House and most The CIA wants to put in this story point. For all participants of this story is a bargain – the White House will confirm its commitment to human rights, the CIA reprimanded for playing with Congress and the administration, but do not do anything, and senators receive little favorable media attention.
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