Obama Rules Out Charging C.I.A. Agents in Interrogations

NY Times ^ | April 16, 2009 | MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE

[don-o]

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department made public on Thursday detailed memos describing harsh interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency, as President Obama said that C.I.A. operatives who carried out the techniques would not be prosecuted.

[don-o]

80 page pdf of released / declassified Top Secret documents are at the link.

[culpeper]

Uh...gee whiz 0bama...thanks alot...

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Perhaps a gentle game of checkers would draw out necessary information... sheesh.

From the article:

“...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 (emphasis mine) “cruel, inhuman or degrading” under international law.”

[pennboy]

Well,a stopped clock is right twice a day. He was bound to stumble into the right thing eventually. Not saying it was torture, just saying he did the right thing.

[don-o]

Enlighten me as to how releasing our secrets concerning how we deal with those who have vowed our destruction is the “right thing.”

[penelopesire]

“One technique authorized for use by the C.I.A. beginning in August 2002 was the use of “insects placed in a confinement box,” presumably to induce fear on the part of a terror suspect.”

Geez...how horrible! (eye roll)

I have a feeling that the argument in the Obama WH last night was really about how silly the left and Obama are going to look when the average American Joe reads this stuff....LMAO!!

[Carley]

Don’t believe a word he says.

[R0CK3T]

I will go on record and call it right here.

0bama is passing on the (bad - from his POV) actors and this will set-up his next move which will be to charge someone in the Executive Branch.

I'm betting he will charge one or all of Rummy, Cheney, GWB.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I don’t think so. This is the smart play, politically speaking. Keep it in the headlines by dribbling out information, but don’t do anything that will be overt enough to make Bush et al. a rallying point for people in the same way that Clinton’s approval numbers went up during the Lewinsky scandal and subsequent impeachment.

[TNCMAXQ]

When will Code Pink and the rest of them start calling for his impeachment?

[Chet 99]

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.

And they ignored him anyway. If Panetta had any self-respect, he'd resign in protest.