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CIA turns over reports on counterterrorist interrogation and detention practices
Washington Wire Global Report Aug. 24, 2009

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2009, announced the release, pursuant to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation, of several CIA documents relating to past counterterrorist detention and interrogation practices. They include a lengthy, heavily redacted CIA Inspector General (IG) report from 2004.

[:: click here to jump to text of Panetta statement below regarding the FOIA release]
[:: click here to read a 158-PDF redacted version of the May 7, 2001, IG report, covering activities from September 2001 to October 2003]

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the same day that he is tasking special counsel John Durham, previously appointed to investigate the CIA's destruction of interrogation tapes, to investigate the prospect of prosecuting CIA national security professionals over the use of some interrogation techniques.

Panetta indicated that the CIA's FOIA-released package of hundreds of pages of material included:

:: a 2004 CIA Inspector General (IG) report, which Panetta admitted had been contested, in part, by the CIA's own Office of General Counsel and the Directorate of Operations
:: 2004 and 2005 "papers" discussing the value of intelligence acquired from high-level detainees

The CIA Inspector General who led the 2004 report was John Helgerson, with three decades of experience at the CIA at that point.

Panetta indicated that the President George W. Bush Administration already provided the Inspector General Report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Congressional intelligence committee leaders five years ago, the same year it was created. Full Congressional intelligence committees were provided the report in 2006, also during the previous administration.

News reports indicate that the IG report alleged excessive "waterboarding," a technique involving placing a wet towel or wet plastic over a suspect's face and pouring water on it to stimulate a gag reflex, as well as some alleged mock executions, and allegedly brandishing a handgun and power drill at one suspect and threatening to use them on him.

Despite the release of the documents to the ACLU, as of late-afternoon on Aug. 24, 2009, none have been provided on the CIA.gov website.

Panetta added that enhanced interrogation techniques, presumably including so-called "waterboarding," were halted in January 2009, and cited a Jan. 22, 2009, Executive Order (Executive Order 13491) entered by President Barack Hussein Obama II as charting the course for the future.

Note that at least several high-profile terrorists suspects previously in CIA custody already had been turned over to the Department of Defense (DOD) regardless, with its own detainee and interrogation policies in addition to, or dovetailing with, limitations provided by legislative enactments.

And the Jan. 22 Executive Order, which directs all U.S. agents to report every U.S. detainee from armed conflicts to the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), also sought to at least begin the process of shutting down any CIA detention facilities: "The CIA shall close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility in the future."

Panetta attempted to cast past CIA interrogation practices as just that, something in the past, while noting that the CIA program overall did produce high-value information, and promising to stand by CIA professionals even as he also recalled that allegations of abuse had been forwarded to DOJ.

The FOIA request was filed by the nonprofit litigation activist group, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Among other issues, the ACLU has been known in the past to promote the decriminalization of abortion and sodomy, to fight restrictions on pornography, and to oppose prayer in public schools or the display of the Ten Commandments at courthouses. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that killed more than 3,000 Americans, the ACLU has become active in opposing certain government activities aimed at countering terrorism.

Several signposts in the broader context to take note of:

:: Intelligence-gathering is even more key to defend against terrorists than in other military conflicts, given the fact they operate often in a civilian setting in a manner analogous to spies and saboteurs. Accurate information might actually be sufficient, almost in and of itself, to prevent loss of life against terrorists that, as a practical matter, would not necessarily be hard to stop if one knew who they were, where they were, what they were planning, and when. For example, even on Sept. 11, 2001, while more than three thousand people were killed, even a few local sheriff's deputies with sidearms could have stopped a small number of operatives with box-cutters — had they possessed the information they needed about the threat.

:: Testimony derived from CIA interrogation where a suspect allegedly was waterboarded has already been admitted in civilian court, during proceedings against self-confessed " 20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui.

:: Where CIA detainees have been transferred to Guantanamo Bay (GTMO), GTMO military commissions are set up so that military judges are in a position to review CIA interrogation practices, such as in the course of reviewing whether to admit evidence. U.S. military judges come from a military tradition valuing discipline and a legal tradition valuing robust rule of law, consistent with military duty and honor.

:: Executive Order 13491 would reveal to the ICRC every alleged terrorist detainee and provide "timely" access for the ICRC. Query what time-frames would be involved, and whether this requirement could jeapordize the use of information gained from such a detainee if their capture were not already known to their fellow terrorists. Query also whether this practice conceivably might endanger the ICRC itself by providing an incentive for enemies of the United States to attempt to infiltrate the ICRC to gain access to ICRC information about the identity of detainees

Links and Further Reading

:: CIA Inspector General May 7, 2004, Report on "Counterterrorism Interrogration and Detention Activities," redacted [large PDF; check back for a different link]

:: Message from the Director: Release of Material on Past Detention Practices Statement to Employees by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon E. Panetta on Release of Material on Past Detention Practices, CIA news release, Aug. 24, 2009
[click here to jump to text of Panetta statement below; check back on this website to see if information is gained relating to the released documents]

:: Executive Order 13491, Jan. 22, 2009 [White House version, missing executive order number]
:: Executive Order 13491, Jan. 22, 2009 [Federal Register]

:: Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder Regarding a Preliminary Review into the Interrogation of Certain Detainees, DOJ release, Aug. 24, 2009

:: CIA Faulted for Conduct at Prisons, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2009

:: Prosecuting the CIA Eric Holder unleashes a special counsel on U.S. war fighters, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2009

:: Special counsel probe expanded for torture, UPI, Aug. 24, 2009

:: Memos reveal harsh CIA interrogation methods, Los Angeles Times, April. 17, 2009

 

APPENDIX: Text of Panetta Statement

Message from the Director: Release of Material on Past Detention Practices

Statement to Employees by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon E. Panetta on Release of Material on Past Detention Practices

August 24, 2009

Today, as part of a number of Freedom of Information Act cases, the government is responding to court orders to release more documents related to the Agency’s past detention and interrogation of foreign terrorists. The CIA materials include the 2004 report from our Office of Inspector General and two papers—one from 2004 and the other from 2005—that discuss the value of intelligence acquired from high-level detainees. The complete package is hundreds of pages long. The declassification process, a mandatory part of the proceedings, was conducted in accord with established FOIA guidelines.

This is in many ways an old story. The outlines of prior interrogation practices, and many of the details, are public already. The use of enhanced interrogation techniques, begun when our country was responding to the horrors of September 11th, ended in January. For the CIA now, the challenge is not the battles of yesterday, but those of today and tomorrow. It is there that we must work to enhance the safety of our country. That is the job the American people want us to do, and that is my responsibility as the current Director of the CIA.

My emphasis on the future comes with a clear recognition that our Agency takes seriously proper accountability for the past. As the intelligence service of a democracy, that’s an important part of who we are. When it comes to past detention and interrogation practices, here are some facts to bear in mind on that point:

• The CIA itself commissioned the Inspector General’s review. The report, prepared five years ago, noted both the effectiveness of the interrogation program and concerns about how it had been run early on. Several Agency components, including the Office of General Counsel and the Directorate of Operations, disagreed with some of the findings and conclusions.
• The CIA referred allegations of abuse to the Department of Justice for potential prosecution. This Agency made no excuses for behavior, however rare, that went beyond the formal guidelines on counterterrorism. The Department of Justice has had the complete IG report since 2004. Its career prosecutors have examined that document—and other incidents from Iraq and Afghanistan—for legal accountability. They worked carefully and thoroughly, sometimes taking years to decide if prosecution was warranted or not. In one case, the Department obtained a criminal conviction of a CIA contractor. In other instances, after Justice chose not to pursue action in court, the Agency took disciplinary steps of its own.
• The CIA provided the complete, unredacted IG report to the Congress. It was made available to the leadership of the Congressional intelligence committees in 2004 and to the full committees in 2006. All of the material in the document has been subject to Congressional oversight and reviewed for legal accountability.

As Director in 2009, my primary interest—when it comes to a program that no longer exists—is to stand up for those officers who did what their country asked and who followed the legal guidance they were given. That is the President’s position, too. The CIA was aggressive over the years in seeking new opinions from the Department of Justice as the legal landscape changed. The Agency sought and received multiple written assurances that its methods were lawful. The CIA has a strong record in terms of following legal guidance and informing the Department of Justice of potentially illegal conduct.

I make no judgments on the accuracy of the 2004 IG report or the various views expressed about it. Nor am I eager to enter the debate, already politicized, over the ultimate utility of the Agency’s past detention and interrogation effort. But this much is clear: The CIA obtained intelligence from high-value detainees when inside information on al-Qa’ida was in short supply. Whether this was the only way to obtain that information will remain a legitimate area of dispute, with Americans holding a range of views on the methods used. The CIA requested and received legal guidance and referred allegations of abuse to the Department of Justice. President Obama has established new policies for interrogation.

The CIA must also keep its focus on the primary responsibility of protecting the country. America is a nation at war. This Agency plays a decisive role in helping the United States meet the full range of security threats and opportunities overseas. That starts with the continuing fight against al-Qa’ida and its sympathizers. There, alongside all its other contributions, the CIA is helping our government chart a new way forward on interrogation, one in keeping with the President’s Executive Order of January 22nd. You, the men and women of this great institution, do the hard work and take the tough risks that intelligence and espionage demand.

I am very proud of what you do, here and abroad, to protect the United States. Your skill, courage, commitment, and focus on mission make the CIA indispensable to the nation. It is a privilege to serve with you.

Leon E. Panetta

Posted: Aug 24, 2009 12:28 PM
Last Updated: Aug 24, 2009 12:30 PM
Last Reviewed: Aug 24, 2009 12:28 PM

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