April 16, 2009, 11:30 am
Secret Interrogation Memos to Be Released
By Mark Mazzetti
After a tense internal debate, the Obama administration this afternoon will make public a number of detailed memos describing the harsh interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency against al Qaeda suspects in secret overseas prisons.
The interrogation methods were among the Bush administration?s most closely guarded secrets, and today?s release will be the most comprehensive public accounting to date of the interrogation program that some senior Obama administration officials have said used illegal torture.
The documents are expected to include Justice Department memos from 2002 and 2005 authorizing the C.I.A. to employ a number of aggressive techniques- including sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures and ?waterboarding,? the near-drowning technique.
Among the anticipated documents are detailed 2005 memos by Stephen G. Bradbury, who as acting head of the Justice Department?s Office of Legal Counsel authorized the C.I.A. techniques. The documents have never before been made public, but an article in The New York Times in October 2007 said that the memos gave legal support for using a combination of coercive techniques at the same time and concluded that the C.I.A.?s methods were not ?cruel, inhuman or degrading? under international law.
Another document expected to be released this afternoon is a Justice Department memo written August 1, 2002. The memo, written by John C. Yoo and signed by Jay S. Bybee, two Justice Department officials at the time, is a legal authorization for a laundry list of proposed C.I.A. interrogation techniques.
The debate about just how much detail to include in the public release bitterly divided an Obama administration still in early months. Fueling the urgency of the discussion was today?s court deadline in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sued the government for the release of the Justice Department memos.
Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, has pressed the White House for weeks to redact sensitive details about specific interrogation techniques. He argued that revealing such information would pave the way for future disclosures of intelligence sources and methods, and would jeopardize the C.I.A.?s relationship with foreign intelligence services.
But the most immediate concern of C.I.A. officials is that the revelations could give new momentum to a full-blown congressional investigation into covert activities under the Bush Administration.
Other Obama administration officials, including Gregory B. Craig, the White House counsel, and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, argued that releasing the documents not only would satisfy the government?s obligation in the lawsuit, but would also put distance between President Obama and some of his predecessor?s most controversial policies.
On Wednesday, Mr. Obama?s top advisers met at the White House for the final round of deliberations over the interrogation documents.
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